District of Clearwater’s longterm debt is very low on a per capital basis, reported Mario Piroddi of BDO Canada, the District’s accountants.
Speaking during a District of Clearwater council meeting on April 2, Piroddi said total longterm debt is only $341,000, or about $115 per person in the municipality. This compares with a provincial average of over $1,000 per person.
“Overall when you look at it, you’re very tight with your budget,” he said.
“I’m happy to report that again this year I can give you a clean audit opinion,” Piroddi told council.
Long meeting at TNRD
Thompson-Nicola Regional District directors had an agenda nearly 700 pages long for their March 28 meeting in Kamloops, reported Mayor John Harwood.
Major items included the TNRD’s budget plus issues with a property near Savona.
The meeting was still going on when he had to leave at 5 p.m., he said.
Harwood is also the North Thompson trustee on the School District 73 board. Enrolment in the school district continues to decline, he said, with 360 fewer students expected next year than this.
Much of the decline will be in secondary school numbers.
The school district is looking at more international education and opening schools of choice to attract more students.
He pointed out that Logan Lake Secondary School now has only 60 or 70 students, even though the mines there have returned to full operation.
A large increase in the industrial base is no guarantee that school enrolments will increase, he said. The model now often is the father goes away to work rather than the family re-locating.
Supporting the Agriplex
An application for funding for the North Thompson Agriplex in Barriere is getting a letter of support from Clearwater.
North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo Association asked for the letter to assist its application to Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT). The organization received $50,000 from SIDIT two years ago.
Councillor Shelly Sim said she appreciated that Barriere is making itself the agricultural center of the Valley.
“The Agriplex is a facility for the whole Valley,” said Mayor John Harwood.
Barry Banford noted that, although he supported the Fall Fair’s application, District of Clearwater has yet to receive a grant from SIDIT.