Champlain Township council received its audited financial statements f0r 2021 at its regular council meeting on Thursday, May 12. This is the second in-person meeting for council, which has been meeting virtually for the past two years due to pandemic restrictions.
The township has ended the year with a healthy surplus of $776,536. The municipality ended 2020 with an $868,804 surplus.
Net taxation collected by the municipality totaled $8,282,137, representing an increase of 3.2 per cent. This amount does not include taxes collected by the municipality on behalf of the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) and school boards.
In all, the municipality collected $15,070,250 in 2021. Of this amount, $6,788,113 was paid to the UCPR and school boards.
User fees totaling $3,829,681 were collected in 2021, an increase from $3,509,854 in 2020. Federal and provincial grants, payments from other municipalities, investment income, penalties and interest and other revenues totalled $15,262,016 in 2021, up from $14,905,519 in 2020.
Expenses totaled $14,485,480, up slightly from $14,036,715 in 2020.
The township ended 2021 with a net debt of $6,330,406, compared with $5,942,539 at the end of 2020.
Salaries and benefits totaled $5,328,941 in 2021, compared to $4,722,696 in 2020, representing a 12.8 increase for this expense.
Interest costs were $350,888, materials cost $2,219,907, contracted services cost $4,913,327 (compared to $4,691,643 in 2020), rent and financial expenses totaled $99,384 (down from $180,787 in 2020) and $35,595 was spent on contributions to other organizations (up from $30,376 in 2020), while amortization of tangible capital assets totaled $1,537,438.
At the end of 2021, the township had $4,556,288 in reserves. The largest reserves in place are for infrastructure ($1,718,464) and water and sewer ($1,167,316).
The Public Works department, which includes road work in the municipality, cost $2,925,321 in 2021. Contracted services cost $338,490, $807,186 was spent on materials and salaries and benefits totaled $892,891.
Parks and Recreation, which includes the Vankleek Hill Community Centre and all parks and the L’Orignal Campground and Beach, cost $1,412,390 in 2021. Salaries and benefits cost $809,679, $354,820 was spent on materials and $115,774 was spent on contracted services.
Only the Champlain Public Library Board revenues and expenses are reported separately in the municipality’s financial statements. The library shows revenues of $235,900 in 2021, with expenses of $217,612, resulting in a 2021 surplus of $18,288. That brings the library’s total surplus to $67,716 when the 2021 surplus is added to the accumulated surplus of $49,428.
