Cleaning costs cut in proposed 2010 budget

Cleaning staff at the Jasper community daycare have been cut, with no sign of additional help in the 2010 proposed budget.

According to manager of community services Kathleen Waxer, the town was unsatisfied with the cleaning work at the daycare throughout much of 2009, and have asked daycare workers to take over such duties.

“We had little success keeping the daycare clean as it should have been,” Waxer said.

Staff have been in charge of cleaning the daycare since August, and the 2010 proposed draft operations budget includes no new funding for cleaning.

Each staff member now dedicates 15 minutes of their day to cleaning the daycare site at the end of their shift. There are currently 13 staff members working for the daycare.

Waxer said since staff care deeply about the cleanliness of the site, they ensure the job is done properly.

“It’s working better than ever,” Waxer said. “It’s about getting the centre clean.”

In 2009, the town budgeted $18,000 for cleaning services for the daycare, but only spent $8,500. That money has been removed from the proposed 2010 budget.

There is a proposed fee increase at the daycare of about three per cent in 2010. That is a result of salary increases negotiated during the last union contract, Waxer said.

The daycare is also adjusting to changes at Jasper Elementary School. Since the school introduced all-day kindergarten, between eight and ten school-aged children left the daycare. Those children were replaced by two-year-olds at the daycare, which require more costly care. That means daycare costs went up, while enrolment numbers stayed the same

“The oldest are the cheapest to care for,” Waxer said.

Jasper and Beaumont are the only municipalities in Alberta with their own daycare.