The Town of Gravenhurst is debating what to do with some leftover money. According to Gravenhurst’s Director of Corporate Services, the town had around $650,000 in surplus at the end of 2017. According to the Municipal Act, any town deficits or surpluses need to be addressed at the end of the year or in the next year, and so now the town has some options to consider for that cash.
A staff report has been prepared with two different options for the town to consider during next week’s committee of the whole meeting.
The options including putting just over $150,000 into a Tax Stabilization Reserve that would be used for emergencies, one-time contingencies, significant legal and insurance-related costs and other corporate financial pressures. The rest of the cash, $500,000, would go into a Community Reinvestment Reserve Fund, which would go toward paying off town debt. The staff report says this is the best way to use the surplus, as it gives the town more flexibility to accomplish long-term financial goals, benefitting tax-payers in the future.
The report also notes the town made that extra money on a spike in the purchase of building permits, community centre rentals, and tickets sold at the Opera House. Council will go over these propositions during Tuesday’s meeting, which gets underway at 3:00pm.