City Council approves additional $1.26 million in borrowing at special meeting

Swift Current City Council has unanimously approved a bylaw which approved an additional $1.26 million in borrowing to complete a series of capital investment projects.

Council was required by The Cities Act to properly authorize the funding through a borrowing bylaw, as that is the only way the act allows a community to take on additional debt. The borrowing was approved in order to complete the funding of the 2018 capital investment projects.

“Using debt to finance infrastructure investments distributes the cost of these long-term assets across generations of residents who will utilize these assets,” Councillor Pat Friesen said during a special council meeting on September 19.

The largest portion of the new debt, $772,692, will be allocated towards a pair of General Government operations projects, the design of a protecting services facility plus the purchase of an additional hydrovac truck.

The Solid Waste Utility Fund borrowed $495,000 in order to complete a storm water retention pond and slope grading, along with a new scale house at the East Landfill.

She explained that the sources of money to support the principal an interest payments for the borrowings are fully funded as per their 2018 budget.

Deputy Mayor Ryan Plewis added that despite the new borrowing, it’s also important to look at this from the broader context of what’s going with the city’s finances.

“It’s our goal, or at least it’s our plan, while we’re taking new debt…the overall picture of our debt is that net debt will probably be decreased at the end of this fiscal year as a result.”

“I think it’s encouraging that our financial plan is in place, and we see some benefits of that now.”

A report on the borrowing bylaw presented at the August 27 Council meeting, highlighted Swift Current’s current debt situation. As of December 31, 2017, the debt for General Government and Utility Operations stood at $64.38 million. With a planned pay down in debt this year, even with the proposed additional borrowing, Swift Current’s debt level is forecast to drop to $60.7 million as of the end of the year, a decrease of $3,599,027.