2013 Capital Works Budget Announced
The City of St. John’s announced its 2013 Capital Works Budget during its May 13 regular meeting of City Council.
“Over the next three years we are looking at infrastructure investments of approximately $270 million in the City,” says Ward 1 Councillor Danny Breen, Chair, Finance and Administration Standing Committee. “The City continues to grow and develop and we must ensure we continue to meet the needs of our residents by providing them with the modern infrastructure people have come to expect in a City as vibrant and dynamic as St. John’s.”
The $270 million in infrastructure investments include financial contributions from all three levels of government: Federal, provincial and municipal. The City is contributing the majority of the funds towards the capital budget with expenditures of over $178 million, or 72 per cent, over the next three years. In addition to cost-shared projects with the federal and provincial governments, the City also receives funding from the Gas Tax to go strictly towards streets rehabilitation and funds through the Water Tax to maintain the functionality and efficiency of the City’s water and wastewater distribution systems.
“The 2013 budget year marks the first time we have moved to a three-year budget process,” explains Councillor Breen. “This allows us to make better use of our resources by looking forward at all of the projects we have upcoming in the City. As you can see from this year’s budget and our forecast for 2014 to 2015 the City is going to be very busy over the next few years with new buildings, recreation infrastructure, streets rehabilitation and work to our water and wastewater transmission systems.”
The document Capital Works Budget 2013: Building a Better City, which is available on the City’s website at www.stjohn.ca, details some of the key infrastructure projects the City will be working on this year and shows projects already approved and in the planning process for the 2014 and 2015 construction season.
“We will continue to work with the other levels of government to ensure we are able to secure the funds we need to maintain our existing infrastructure and grow for the future,” says Councillor Breen. “I encourage both the federal and provincial levels of government to renew their commitment to long-term funding plans to allow municipalities to be able to effectively plan for future capital works projects.”
Backgrounder
Capital Works Budget Document
For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca
Danny Breen
Ward 1 Councillor
Chair, Finance and Administration Standing Committee
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 576-2332
E-mail: dbreen@stjohns.ca