The Town of Athabasca has struck a new committee to deal with one of the town’s least sexy – but most important – budget line items.
During their Jan. 23 meeting, Town of Athabasca council unanimously approved the Public Works Committee’s terms of reference.
Mayor Colleen Powell said in an interview council formed the committee because a “tremendous percentage” of the town’s budget goes towards public works.
“It is to receive and exchange information on public works, and too, we have a fiscal responsibility to know how that money is being spent, and understand how that money is being spent,” she said.
In 2017, 34 per cent of the town’s $8.2-million operating budget was spent on water, streets and sewer.
Powell said the Town of Athabasca spends a particularly large amount of money on public works, due to the lay of the land.
“We are built on hills,” she said, by way of explanation.
The committee will meet once a month or as needed, and councillors Mike Arychuk, Rob Balay and David Pacholok sit on it.
Powell said the town used to have a Public Works Committee before she came on council in 1989, and she is pleased to see it return.
“You’ve got to be very, very careful with all of this stuff, and it costs a lot of money,” she said. “It’s not something people see until something goes wrong.”
