Conservation authority headed for another big budget surplus

Buoyed by higher attendance at parks and waterfalls, the Hamilton Conservation Authority is on pace to top last year’s unexpected $2.7-million budget surplus — despite no longer getting federal COVID-19 relief.

Financial results as of the end of August show the authority’s revenues of $7.2 million exceeded expenses by nearly $2.5 million, up from a $1.8-million surplus at the same time last year. The year-end surplus in 2020 included an $863,000 federal wage subsidy during COVID-19 closures, which helped wipe out an initially projected deficit of up to $1.5 million. The profit was put into a reserve fund for capital projects.

Secretary-treasurer Neil McDougall said this year’s higher revenues reflect that there have been no pandemic park closures, unlike in 2020, when provincial orders shut them in April, May and part of June.

But sales of annual passes are also up by nearly 50 per cent, topping 10,000 for the first time, while Westfield Heritage Village and other conservation areas have enjoyed a boost in revenues from a rebound in rentals for film shoots, he said.

“Everything’s moving along quite swimmingly,” McDougall told members of the authority’s budget and administration committee at their Sept. 16 meeting. “We’re tracking even better than last year, which was a good year.”

The budget and administration committee also endorsed a proposed $2-million capital budget to be submitted to the city for 2022.

Major projects include $400,000 to rebuild the entrance road at Christie Lake, $250,000 for a campground expansion and $200,000 to replace a viewing platform at Valens Lake, and $150,000 to dredge the marina channel at Fifty Point.