Who'll Run for Council? Part 3 – The Municipality of Clarenville

On Tuesday September 24, townspeople in the Province's municipalities will vote for new municipal councils. Nomination Day is Tuesday, August 27.  In Clarenville there will be two votes; one for the position of Mayor and another for the 6 other councilors who will constitute our Town's government for the next 4 years.   If you are interested in running, Municipalities NL and The Department of Municipal Affairs have created a great resource called MAKING YOUR MARK - it has lots of useful information for would-be-councilors.

Here in Clarenville, I expect there will be a lot of interest from people considering running.  I’ve been there and I have some insights on what a new Councilor should know about the town.  Here is a summary of publicly available information on our Town.

THE MUNICIPALITY THAT WE CALL CLARENVILLE

Population Serviced

Clarenville has one of the fastest growing populations in the province.  With an official 2011 population of just over 6000, up 14% from 2007, we are the 13^th biggest municipality in NL.   Clarenville’s prosperity comes not from just its own population.  Our current and continued success is predicated on Clarenville continuing to be a full service centre for the surrounding population of approximately 30,000 and the industry at Long Harbour, Bull Arm and Come-By-Chance.

With only 45 births in Clarenville in 2011 the bulk of the population growth is attributed to in-migration – pointing to the critical need for attraction and retention strategies to maintain the current rate of growth.  Clarenville’s median age is a full 3 years younger than the provincial average of 41.

See Details: http://ourtownclarenville.blogspot.ca/2012/02/clarenville-grows-144-in-5-years.html

See Details: http://nl.communityaccounts.ca/profiles.asp?_=vb7En4WVgaauzXZiVg__

2012-13 Staff

The Town has 30-35 employees - most long-serving.    The Town workers are also unionized   Click to See the Organizational Chart below.    Source: Clarenville.net

Budget 2013

The Town of Clarenville is a $9 million a year operation.

30% of the budget Revenues comes directly from Residential taxes – and another 30% coming from Business Taxes.  Jointly, Residents and Business contribute another 17% through Water and Sewer Taxes. Approximately 13% comes from Provincial sources.

Where Clarenville Plans to get its money for 2013

Revenue Category	Budgeted Revenue (in thousands of dollars)	Percent of Total budget	Percent Increase(decrease) over previous year
Residential Property Tax	$2,680	30%
Commercial Property Tax	$840	9%
Business tax	$1,780	20%
Water and Sewer tax	$1,540	17%
Contribution to Debt Servicing	$877	10%
Other Revenue	$101	1%
Recreational revenue	$498	6%
Poll tax	$260	3%
Gas Tax	$226	2%
Provincial Op. Grant	$145	2%
Interest revenue	$60	1%
Grants in Lieu of tax	$35	0%
TOTAL Planned Income	$9,041	100%	6%

Where Clarenville plans to spend its money in 2013

Clarenville planned expenditures are broken into seven broad categories:

Expenditure Category	Budgeted Expenditure (in thousands of dollars)	Percent of Total budget	Percent Increase(decrease) over previous year
General Administration	$1,176	13%	4%
Fire and Emergency Services	$277	3%	(10%)
Transportation	$1,953	22%	7%
Environmental Health	$1,200	13%	1%
Planning and Development	$148.4	2%	25%
Culture and Recreation	$1,014	11%	11%
Fiscal Expenditures	$3,274	36%	6%
TOTAL Planned Spending	$9,041	100%	6%

See a more complete breakdown at http://ourtownclarenville.blogspot.ca/2012/12/clarenvilles-2013-budget.html

Significant Assets

·                 Water Treatment Plant/Water tower

·                 Clarenville Events Centre

·                 White Hills Ski Resort

·                 Town Hall/Fire Station

·                 Several Front End Loaders, Grader,  2 Sidewalk plows, 1 mini excavator,  Several Tandem Trucks  and several Pickup Trucks

Accepted Plans and Strategies:

• The Town has a Strategic Plan developed & adopted in 2007/8  (No Longer available online)
• The Town has a Municipal Plan developed & adopted in 2011/12 - from this arise:
• Development Regulations    
• Town Plan    
• Pilot Communications has developed a new Branding Strategy for the Town (Not available online.  see http://www.pilotcom.ca/smart-news/19-07-2012/real-%E2%80%93-life-%E2%80%93-potential  )
• Pilot Communications has developed a Communications Plan for the Town (Not publicly available)

Go to PART 1


Go to PART 2