A viability review on the Village of Cremona has been completed, and of the province’s eight key measures of sustainability, one was ‘flagged’ as an area of concern.
A public meeting was held May 22 at Cremona School to examine the findings, but Jennie Thompson, a local of the village of 457 residents, felt the discussion could have been more productive.
“I was somewhat disappointed with the way it was run,” said Thompson. “I don’t feel that people had the opportunity to ask their questions and no answers were provided.”
Approximately 70 residents attended the public meeting, and for Thompson, it was encouraging to see her fellow villagers show interest in the community’s wellbeing.
“I hope that this show of interest will continue into October’s election,” she said, “and Cremona can get back on track with a council that wishes to serve the community as the community requests.”
Despite the review now being complete, Thompson is unsure why the province opted to conduct a viability review in lieu of a dissolution study.
“I believe all of the information we have been given would have come out in a dissolution study and we would have received the pros and cons of becoming part of the county, which I think many still wonder about,” said Thompson, who was one of the initiators of the petition asking the province for a dissolution study to be done.
Lone-remaining councillor Karel Beckman agreed, saying the review was ‘off target.’
Beckman said residents wanted a dissolution study as they were frustrated with lousy governance, poor village office hours, expenses and difficulty obtaining bylaws or council meeting minutes.
“I suspect that villagers would have preferred to know if their governance would improve if they were to be governed by the county instead,” said Beckman.
In the 39-page viability review, Alberta Municipal Affairs indicates that the village’s proportion of non-residential assessment to overall assessment has declined 38.8 per cent since 2003, but this one measure would not on its own trigger the need for further review of Cremona’s viability.
The village received thumbs up on the remaining seven measures of sustainability, each addressed in the form of a question.
Beckman, however, wanted to learn more.
“I was hoping to learn more about the numbers that made no sense,” he said, “such as reserves close to $700,000 when our annual budgets normally have a surplus of approximately $500.”
Several municipal matters were reviewed and available in the document, including governance, finances and infrastructure.
Eight key measures
The first measure read, ‘has your municipality incurred an annual deficit for the past two consecutive years, or five of the last 10?’
Since 2002, Cremona has never acquired a deficit, with a $421,219 surplus in 2011.
The second, ‘does your municipality have less than a 1:1 ratio of current assets to current liabilities?’ was also not an area of concern, as the village’s ratio presently sits at 1.87:1 ($1,492,191 assets to $799,668 liabilities).
The third measure revealed that Cremona had not received a ‘qualified audit option,’ ‘denial of opinion,’ or adverse option’ with respect to its most recent annual financial statements.
The village also has not reached 80 per cent of its debt and debt-service limit, as Cremona did not have any debt in 2011.
Measure five questioned whether provincial and federal grants account for 50 per cent or more of Cremona’s total revenue. Currently, that total sits at 42.8 per cent, with $492,027 of the village’s $1,148,770 revenue coming from grants.
The seventh measure showed that the municipality has not yet obtained 7.3 per cent, or $34,964, of property taxes owed; the province advises that percentage be below 10 per cent.
The final measure looks at population, asking if the community has experienced a decline over the past 20 years. Cremona’s population in 1991 was 393; it is now 457.
Measure six was where Municipal Affairs believed there was an issue.
In 2003, the overall tax assessment base was $22,355,240, with $4,684,170 of that total, or 21 per cent, being non-residential. In 2013, the non-residential assessments jumped to $6,135,840, but with the overall total also rising to $46,996,544, the percentage of non-residential fell to 13 per cent, meaning residential taxpayers make up the remaining 87 per cent.
Most municipalities aim for somewhere in the 70 per cent residential, 30 per cent non-residential range.
Governance
Whether the current governance of the village is sustainable was also addressed in the viability review.
As a total group, Cremona’s three council members are paid $17,575 combined. Compared to municipalities with similar populations, the Town of Granum pays its five councillors $17,050 combined and the Village of Hay Lakes pays $28,551 for five councillors and the Village of Glendon provides $5,360 for three.
Cremona did approve a motion to expand its council to five members prior to Mayor Leslie Abrams and councillor Melinda Whittle’s resignations in March.
In the 2004 municipal election, seven ran for three council seats; in 2007, six ran; and in 2010, five ran for two councillor positions and five candidates vied for the mayor’s seat.
The viability review revealed that Cremona does not have a communications bylaw or policy.
In 2011, the village started to redevelop its website, but has since stalled, and presently only offers basic contact information. Programs and services are printed in the Village Voice, a monthly newsletter.
The last citizen survey that was conducted in 2010 disclosed that of those who completed the form – 33 households out of a possible 210 – 52 per cent believed the village did not practice open and accessible government.
An equal percentage said infrastructure and roads had worsened, 39 per cent said the cost of living and lack of services had degenerated, yet 79 per cent said services provided by the village were either very good or good.
Cremona also does not have a strategic or business plan. The most recent plan is the Village of Cremona Municipal Sustainability Plan 2009-2012, but no updates or progress reports have ever been published.
Prior to the viability review, council was in the process of developing a new sustainability plan.
Financial sustainability
The Village of Cremona, as of December 2012, has no debt.
The village accumulated a surplus in 2009 of $375,713, in 2010, $431,727 and in 2011, $692,523. In 2011, the village collected $352,732 in municipal taxes, $492,027 in grants and $211,879 from sales and user charges.
Total expenses were $727,551 in 2011 (17.46 per cent less than budgeted), with the majority (57 per cent) going to general administration and water and wastewater.
Cremona’s municipal tax rate for 2012 was 6.77 per cent for residential and 13.61 for non-residential.
Infrastructure
Cremona has been dealing with various infrastructure needs for some time.
In 2005, MPE Engineering conducted a study, underscoring three key areas where the village needed improvement, much of which has not yet been addressed. The three areas included roads needing upgrading, storm drainage being inadequate in certain locations and water and wastewater systems being only adequate, or undersized for the village’s population at that time. The total cost of MPE’s suggested infrastructure upgrades was $8,989,500. Thus far, the village has spent $3,178,717 on these repairs.
Roads were the most significant need, ringing in at an estimated cost of $2,174,000. Since 2005, $183,303 has been spent to upgrade Cremona’s roadways.
Water treatment has seen the most attention, with $2,183,662 put into the upgrades.
So what now? Municipal Affairs is encouraging Cremona residents to provide their input by emailing [email protected], fax 780-720-1016 or mail directly to Alberta Municipal Affairs in Edmonton.
