By Steve Hubrecht
[email protected]
Financial plan
Invermere council gave the first reading to its 2021-2025 financial plan bylaw during its most recent council meeting.
“It’s a pretty robust budget with a lot of exciting initiatives in it,” Invermere director of finance Karen Cote told council during the Tuesday, Jan. 26 council meeting.
The plan outlines total revenue of more than $13.1 million for Invermere in 2021, along with expenses of more than $11.3 million.
The district will engage in public consultation for the financial plan in the form of a newsletter and survey, which will be sent out on Feb. 1, with a closing date of Feb. 12. This timeline would give council the chance to give the plan second and third reading during its second council meeting in February, and then adopt it in March.
Joint Active Transportation Network
Council members voted unanimously to adopt the Joint Active Transportation Network Plan during the Jan. 26 meeting. The plan is a joint endeavour between the district of Invermere and the Shuswap Indian Band, and work on it has been underway since 2018.
During the Jan. 26th meeting, Invermere planner Rory Hromadnik explained that the plan details strategic connectivity throughout both Invermere and Shuswap lands.
“It’s an all inclusive plan that is multigenerational…it’s a long term plan,” he said, adding it outlines more than $13 million in potential infrastructure upgrades.
“It identifies opportunities that will form the basis of future partnership agreements (with service clubs, nonprofits and other groups),” added Hromadnik.
Councillor Gerry Taft opined that since it’s an over-arching plan, he hopes it will be refreshed on an ongoing basis in the future. “It’s a great document,” he said, but in the future council will need to adapt it, so that it doesn’t become irrelevant and end up just sitting on a shelf.
