By the time the next municipal election rolls around in the fall of 2018, the mayor of Elliot Lake hopes the community has a healthy reserve fund. Dan Marchisella says the goal is to get the emergency fund back to at least $11-million. Marchisella says reserves are a must because in an emergency, if you need federal and provincial help, a community first has to answer one question before getting a helping hand.
That question is how much does it have in its rainy day fund. Right now reserves sit at $9 million which is an improvement from 2010 when they fell to $ 6 million. In 2005, Elliot Lake had a reserve fund of $11-million. Marchisella believes council can reach the 11-million dollar minimum threshold again over the next few years.