Huntsville approves Cemetery Columbarium budget increase of $30,000
Huntsville Council approved the Cemetery Columbarium budget increase of $30,000, in the July 22, 2024, meeting.
In a Capital Project update by Director of Finance Services/Treasurer, Julia McKenzie, she provided a summary of this year’s capital projects, which included a staff recommendation that the Cemetery project that was originally budgeted at $120,000 be increased to $150,000.
McKenzie indicated that staff normally report a budget summary to General Committee on a quarterly basis, however, recommendations for budget increases, such as in this case, must be approved by Council.
According to the staff report, other projects with a higher cost than budgeted include the following:
- Information Technology, budgeted at $262,800, and increased to $361,950 (a $99,150 variance)
- Facilities, Sales and Customer Services, budgeted at $146,000, increased to $378,966 (a $232,966 variance)
- Economic Development and Events, budgeted at $10,000, increased to $16,000 (a $6,000 variance)
The report adds that the Cemetery variance is “due to additional expected costs.”
It adds, “Overall, it is expected by staff that the Capital Projects will be approximately $1.07 million lower than anticipated due to several projects being expected to come in under budget.”
After the changes to the Cemetery Reserve, it is expected to have an ending balance of $34,558 for the remaining of 2024.
Councillor, Cory Clarke, expressed his appreciation to the capital projects being under $1 million lower overall than anticipated. He said, “I got excited when I read that. So, that’s good.”
He inquired that because the variance is under for some projects whether funds from these can be used to replenish the Cemetery Reserve.
McKenzie indicated, “In general, all of our reserves generally need replenishing, so I wouldn’t just direct it towards the cemetery.”
She added that staff anticipated the decrease in funds given the columbarium project, however, “we still have plans to keep budgeting it up in the future.”
She also noted that they expect the roads numbers to decrease as well. She said, “With the roads, it is showing that there’s $578,000 under, and the Director has the authority to add more roads as we go, so you may see that number actually change, like go down quite a bit, as they get new roads completed.”
Councillor, Helena Renwick, confirmed that the Cemetery Reserve “won’t go down completely.” She explained, “This is actually a money generating… I hate to say it, but it is for us. So, the fact that we’re putting in an extra $30,000, the reserves will not be depleted, so I think it is something we want to consider for sure.”
Councillor, Jason FitzGerald, said he went on a tour to the Cemetery and told staff and Council to expect changes. He said, “I think you’re going to see some suggestions in By-Laws and fees and charges that it’ll actually generate some greater income from this type of investment in the Cemetery.”