Tantramar Councillor Michael Tower

Members of Tantramar Town Council called for more spending on housing and climate change initiatives last week before approving the $17.9 million town operating budget for 2025.

“Housing is a major issue and it’s not being looked at here at all,” said Councillor Michael Tower who also criticized the draft budget for not allocating more than $50,000 to fight climate change.

“I think that’s a real shortcoming,” he said, adding that the climate change advisory committee needs more support for initiatives such as installing solar panels on town buildings including the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre.

“The money is not there for that,” he complained.

“We’re taking money away and putting it somewhere else,” Tower added, referring to money that flows into town operating and capital reserve funds.

Councillor Josh Goguen said there should be a budget line item to support housing initiatives that can qualify for 75% grants from other levels of government.

“But where do we come up with that extra 25%?” he asked.

“We seem to have $5 million in reserves and then we’re still putting in more,” Goguen said.

Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell and Mayor Andrew Black also called for more investment in housing given what Black called “the precarious situation we are in.”

Treasurer Michael Beal replied that although the town does have $7.2 million in its capital reserve funds, $1.6 million has been allocated for required upgrades to Sackville’s sewage lagoons and another $492,000 is being spent on infrastructure projects in Dorchester.

Tantramar Treasurer Michael Beal

“So it leaves us around $5 million [plus] $431,000 in our operating reserve,” Beal said, adding that money has not been allocated and could go toward any special projects that council approves next year.

The Treasurer also pointed out that reserve funds enable the town to finance projects at 0% interest instead of borrowing from the province at 4-5% interest.

“If council chooses to not borrow from ourselves, borrow from the province, absolutely, absolutely we can do that,” he said.

He added that if, for example, $175,000 is needed next year for housing or climate change projects, the money could come from an existing budget item for council initiatives, from potential savings on projects that don’t get completed, or from the reserves.

“So, having those reserve funds allows us to do those when they do come up,” he said.