Kamloops city staff say less than 25 per cent of the budget for the referendum had been spent before it was postponed.

Finance director Kathy Humphrey says $29,262 had been spent, out of the budgeted $120,000. Of that, $27,737 was spent on buying voting system software and $1,525 was spent on advertising.

“We were continuing along business as usual. And so we’re hoping that in the next referendum, the next time we go to a decision about this, we can use some of what we’ve created. Ultimately we’ve saved some money, but it isn’t happening,” Humphrey told NL News.

She also says close to $16,670 was spent on communications ahead of the referendum, out of the budgeted $35,000.

The referendum was officially postponed as of March 18 because of COVID-19, and will held when the virus is no longer a public health threat, according to the city.