OLDS — The Town of Olds' council got a look at the municipality's financial health during its April 28 meeting.
Financial statements were presented by Jeff Alliston, a partner with the Metrix Group.
Total debt at the end of 2024 was $26.9 million. Of that debt, $8.95 million was O-NET debt.
As of Dec. 31 last year, total revenues for the Town of Olds stood at $27.7 million and expenses totalled $31.2 million.
In an email to the Albertan, the town's corporate services director Sheena Linderman said expenses include amortization which is not budgeted for and is a non-cash transaction.
Last November, Olds Fibre Ltd. (OFL, also known as O-NET) was sold to Telus Communications for $11 million.
Of that figure, $4.67 million paid off OFL indebtedness (a line of credit and closing costs).
Linderman said $6.33 million will be applied against the debt.
The Town of Olds' financial assets totalled $18.6 million and liabilities totalled $31.9 million, leaving a net debt of $13.3 million.
Linderman said the increase in net debt in 2024 was due to “the recorded loss on sale of OFL.”
“2024 was a normal operating year for the Town of Olds. Outside of the OFL transaction, financial results remained consistent,” she wrote.
A full report on the sale will be released during council’s May 5 meeting.
Coun. Darren Wilson expressed concern about the municipality's $13.3 million debt, although he said Olds is not the only municipality deeply in debt.
“As you said, in the simple terms, our assets are less than our liabilities. What does that mean going forward? Then what's the red flag for this council in terms of and trying to winnow away that $13 million net debt,” Wilson asked.
“I would just obviously be mindful that you're going to have a positive cash flow kind of going forward,” Alliston said.
“So as you're making your debt repayments and you're paying those down, that your financial asset position is increasing, and obviously your long-term debt will be decreasing as you pay it down, and you'll steadily chip away at the debt position and kind of work your way down.
“Obviously, being in a debt position, you know, just be mindful of the payments and making sure that you're collecting enough cash to meet all those obligations, really.”
“That was a sturdy answer, thank you,” mayor Judy Dahl said.
Coun. Wanda Blatz said so far, the Town of Olds has made no lump payments to pare down its OFL debt. She asked if that will be rectified.
Linderman said the municipality will be making a $3.5 million lump sum payment in June.
