Cape Breton municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke talks budget, port development
Council 'will be mindful that we have a responsibility' to be good stewards, mayor says
The mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality says 2015 has been a year of building economic momentum, but it's still a long road ahead as council waits on certain projects to move forward.
Cecil Clarke, who plans to re-offer in next year's municipal election, says he's proud of the steps council has made moving economic development ahead while adhering to an austerity budget to reign in spending.
"And we now have to go into 2016 to finish what we started," Clarke told CBC Sydney's Information Morning.
Port and waterfront development
"It all comes down to all roads lead back to city hall," Clarke said.
Municipality staff have developed a "consortium of interests" that includes economic diversification and the eventual goal of building a container terminal.
Clarke says during his recent trip to China he learned that governments want to hear from other governments about stability and access.
"We've seen WestJet with year-round service, McKeil [Marine], Heddle Marine, CME [Canadian Maritime Engineering] and the ship and marine services. We've been able to move forward on aboriginal partnerships and agreements. The whole development of the port itself, getting some stability from Genesee & Wyoming over the railway."
Council is waiting on $500,000 in federal funding announced this past summer.
"The commitments are still in place, but the process is still ongoing," he said, adding that the length of the federal election campaign slowed discussions over the contribution agreement.
Clarke also hopes to bring a Nova Scotia Community College campus downtown and a mixed-use facility to the waterfront.
"All of that will be put together and an economic model will come," he said.
"And then the design of what a building would look like and the footprint required for land will be put on top of that. I think that, hopefully, by the spring of next year we should have sense of where this project could be."
Budget management
Clarke says the municipality started the year off in a difficult relationship with the province. He says he met with Premier Stephen McNeil, put their differences aside and asked for stability.
"It was about the fact that we couldn't afford any more clawbacks on what we have to remit to the province," Clarke said.
"The premier provided that stability, so he followed up and he honoured what we committed to in our meeting and we were able to get through our budget process much better than the year previous."
He says the current budget sets up the future, but it's not yet where the municipality needs to be. Control of spending and having a contingency plan necessitated their austerity measures, Clarke says.
"Compared to when we started, with no reserve funds, we have now reestablished a reserve fund."
Clarke said he hopes it will surpass $1 million in 2016.
"We will be eyes wide open and will be mindful that we have a responsibility and a duty to not only get through a budget year but to be good stewards of the municipality."