The deadline to finalize the budget is fast approaching and concerns about the slow pace of this year’s deliberations are being raised by a veteran councillor.

The draft budget is usually completed weeks before final approval, which is at the end of February.

“This is the longest we have ever spent on a budget in my 14 budgets,” says Councillor Harold Usher.

He says putting off tough decisions has extended budget deliberations to the 11th hour.

Tuesday's budget meeting will leave barely two days before the deadline to finalize the budget. 

Usher says a marathon meeting and late night decision making isn't a good public process.

“The public may come there, thinking they will spend two or three hours because they want to understand, learn and appreciate what we are doing,” he says.

But Mayor Joe Fontana rejects suggestions the late hour may lead to rushed decisions. Yet he is still bracing for a long night.

“We’re bringing in cots and bread and water. We are going to stay there until such time as we get it all done,” he says.

“It’s a big job and there's a short period of time and again we are a part-time council," Orser says.

The list of unresolved items isn't just long. It’s full of complex issues including: the police budget; a proposed $1.5 million cut to city staff; changes to the information technology department; how to spend last year's budget surplus; and how to pay for a number of economic development projects.

Fontana says the process is not unusual as councillors come down to the crunch and decision making points.

Those decision points will factor prominently into the final tax rate. Currently, the increase sits at 3.6 per cent, or $86 more on the average home.

“Yes, the tough decisions still have to be made, but I think council has said the tax rate needs to be less than two per cent and that we need to invest in infrastructure,” Fontana says.

Tuesday’s deliberations start at 3 p.m. and the draft tax increase may not be calculated until early the next morning.

“I hope I'm wrong. I hope we can get through all this in a shorter time. It just seems that it is going to take a long time,” Usher says.

The city treasurer is exploring the idea of a four-year budgeting in the future, which would establish spending targets and tax targets throughout a council term and lead to more efficient decision making.