Salmon Festival 'not a devastating factor' in 2016 town budget, says mayor

The new mayor in Grand Falls-Windsor says despite a $667,000 overall loss from Salmon Festival, there was no large direct effect on the 2016 budget.

Barry Manuel said the town has tabled its operating budget, which comes in around $16.2 million.

• No written contract between Grand Falls-Windsor and Salmon Fest promoter
• Grand Falls-Windsor council voted to keep Salmon Fest, despite warnings in May about losses
• 'Writing on the wall' for Salmon Fest, says music promoter

Residents will see a lowered mill rate,from 8.5 to 7.75, to compensate for a hike in property values.

"That's in order to try and level out those tax increases,so the average taxpayer of Grand Falls-Windsor will pay around $108 a year more in 2016," Manuel told CBC's Central Morning.

Central Morning5:45GFW Brings Down Its Budget

We talk details of the new Grand Falls-Windsor budget with new mayor, Barry Manuel.

According to Manuel, there will be no increase in any other fees.

Manuel said the reported losses after the Salmon Fest flop hasn't had a direct impact on next year's budget.

"I guess no matter which way you slice it,the Salmon Festival lost $667,000," Manuel said.

"Obviously we're not happy about it, but in reality that's the financial situation and we clearly stated that we won't be exposing ourselves at risk again and we'll return Salmon Festival back to its roots," he said.

"I'm not trying to downplay the situation, but it's not a devastating factor in our budget and it's actually less than what we expected in terms of the other things that we've dealt with in the past."

More road work on the way

Manuel said AbitibiBowater's closure inGrand Falls-Windsor was a more significantloss, and the town managed to get by after that.

"It was accounted for in the 2015 budget so there won't be any impact in 2016," he said.

"Obviously the money has got to come from somewhere and we budget somewhere around $750,000 towards our capitol program to reduce borrowing, so that's where the money came from to pay that expense."

Meanwhile, Manuel said the town's overall net debt charges haveincreased by more than $450,000 compared to last year mainly, he said, because of ongoing projects that were started in 2015 and are carrying over into the new year.

"Things like Duggan Street and Hardy Avenue, which were large projects that had to be stopped due to the weather and they'll be picked up and finished off in 2016," he said.

Manuel added there will be further street upgrades on the slate for 2016, as well as refurbishment of cenotaph at memorial grounds for the Beaumont-Hamel 100th anniversary in July.