The chances are slim that the library and culture centre will be completed on budget.
There’s no real surprise there, but the words have finally been spoken by the municipality. Alice Lettner, director of finance, and Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer, brought the news to council on Tuesday.
“My expectation at this time is $8.5 million is not going to be sufficient to continue to fund those expenditures,” Lettner said, referring to the remaining cost of construction. “We are currently at $7.4 million, so we are well within budget at this point, however we know that there’s still outstanding bills to complete the construction.”
It’s not particularly good news, especially since the project was last reported at a million dollars over budget, but there is a sliver of hope hidden in all of this: administration is working to be more transparent and accountable.
There was a shroud of silence surrounding the library project for months, but now that the community knows about the legal issues surrounding the roof and mechanical room, administration has nothing to hide. It’s laying everything on the line.
It’s not yet known how much the overruns will be, but Lettner said she still felt it was necessary to inform council that administration will more than likely be asking for more funds in the not-so-distant future.
Administration could have waited until that day when the $8.5 million has been spent to let council know about the library’s financial situation, but Lettner said she felt it was prudent to bring the news forward now.
It’s necessary, she said, because “council operates on the principles of accountability and transparency and therefore this demonstrates that [council is] aware of the fact that there may be overruns and will be fully informed of those overruns.”
She also noted the particular importance of telling the community now, as there is a municipal election right around the corner.
Budget increases will come from unrestricted reserves, but, noted Lettner, some of those funds will be paid back when negotiations between the municipality and architect are completed. (Stantec has admitted some of the issues that have plagued the building are a result of their architectural design, so the company is prepared to compensate the municipality for a portion of those costs.)
Negotiations to determine the total compensation due likely won’t wrap up until early next year, after the building is completed, said Waterworth.
The completion date for the building is December 2013, which means it will be inherited by the new mayor and council, who will be elected Oct. 21.
We hope administration will continue down this path of transparency and accountability with the next generation of municipal officials, ensuring that both council and the community are kept abreast of budget increases and concerns.
