Arbitration isn’t cheap. This week Brazeau County council allocated an additional $100,000 to help cover the costs of the ongoing arbitration process with the town of Drayton Valley.
Colin Swap, the County’s General Manager of Finance, told council that money that was set aside in both August and October wasn’t enough to cover the anticipated costs of the process and he was expecting more invoices related to arbitration before the end of the year.
As of Tuesday’s meeting, the County had received invoices totaling just shy of $107,000.
Council moved to reallocate $100,000 from the Planning Services Professional and Special Services budget, since it’s not expected to be used by that department before the end of the year.
Reeve Bart Guyon said that the alternative to making the move came “at the risk of losing $400,000 a year for the rest of eternity.”
The County and the Town have been in dispute since the County unilaterally reduced the amount it contributes to recreational cost sharing by more than 50 percent. An attempt to find a mediated settlement failed earlier this year. The decision of the arbitrator will determine how much each municipality will contribute to the operational costs of facilities that are used by both town and county residents.
The arbitrator’s decision, which will be binding on both the Town and the County, is expected in December.
