The mayor of Morden expects 2021 will be a great year for his community.

Brandon Burley points out 2021 will mark the first time this council will get full control over its own budget since the 2018 municipal election.

"In 2018, 2019 and 2020 there were a lot of pre-committed expenses with different purchasing contracts and things like that. We don't have those in place this year and so that discretionary money is ours to use as we see fit."

As a result, Burley says that will open up some opportunities for council as it formulates its operating budget for the year. He says ratepayers can expect a shift in priorities with this year's financial plan.

"We have some really good things coming down in 2021 ...we're looking to put our mark on this year's budget and delivering some results for taxpayers."

Morden city council held its strategic planning session and a budget planning meeting prior to the new year where they analyzed preliminary operating and capital budgets for each department. Burley feels council and its administration team have charted a solid course going forward.

"At some point, we're going to seek some validation from the community on that. We want to make sure that council is not being myopic in what we perceive the priorities to be. We're here to serve the public and if we're doing things that don't benefit the public then we're doing the wrong things."