Insurance assessment delays Paradise budget

By Mark Squibb

The Town of Paradise will delay adopting its 2026 municipal budget until January 29.
Council and staff lay the blame at the feet of the insurance company assessing the fire and smoke damage sustained at the Town Hall and adjacent public works depot last February.
“As everyone knows this year has been a challenging time,” said Mayor Patrick Martin during the December 16 public meeting. “In February, a fire caused extensive damage to our Town Hall and depot. Since the incident, staff have been working with our insurance provider to assess the damage and determine the plan for rehabilitation. The plan forward is a crucial part of our 2026 budget, and we don’t have all the information from the insurance provider to make those decisions. As such, we thought it was in the best interest of the Town to request an extension for our budget.”
Martin said that regarding the budget, considerable work has already been done, and he expressed his thanks to staff for their hard work.
“Once we have the financial assessments from the insurance provider, council will be able to make informed decisions about the Town Hall rehabilitation and remodelling that reflect both financial responsibility and the long-term operating needs of our community,” said Martin. “We need to have the proper information in front of us to make informed decisions, and so I think the extension this year was necessary.”
Provincial government policy dictates that towns must adopt a municipal budget by year end, hence the reason the Town had to formerly request an extension, which was granted.
While uncommon, requesting an extension for adoption of a budget is not unheard of. The Town of Harbour Grace, for example, recently announced that it will not be adopting its 2026 municipal budget until sometime in the New Year.