Alberta Municipalities has put out a budget analysis looking at how the Provincial Budget will impact local communities. Here are the most interesting graphs. I’d encourage you to checkout the full report. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from my personal perspective:

Read More

On Monday, Council directed Administration to start another round of residential snow (and ice) removal. It begins today.

Some streets are melting up fine, but many are experiencing daytime flooding that creates severe freeze issues—problems that could worsen with another cold snap. I was very pleased to see my colleagues support this round of removal. 

Now, the interesting question is: where does Council go next with residential snow and ice control? Snow removal is a topic that is always of high interest to residents. But it is also a great example of how we manage budgets at Council.

Read More

On Monday, Council will be debating the construction of an indoor sport field. The proposal is to build a 135,000 square foot dome in the Trader Ridge Area. It will artificial turf large enough to host a full-size, FIFA compliant 11v11 soccer game. However, it will have netting to allow the field to be divided into smaller configurations and markings to accommodate multiple sports. There are also plans for a secondary building containing locker rooms with showers, washrooms, reception, and storage. It is also hoped that a perimeter track can be included.

It is estimated that this will cost $16.4 million to build. The annual budget impact, including debt repayment, would be an estimated $660,000/year (equivalent to a tax increase of ~0.4%).

Some more information and thoughts:

Read More

It’s that time of year: BUDGET!

Next week, Council will be debating the 2025 Budget. I’d encourage you to take sometime to give the recommendations from Administration. You can find them in this draft budget book.

Five things to know as we get into these important discussions:

• Cost Control is always a priority. But heading into 2025, Administration has put renewed focus into reducing costs wherever possible without having a large impact on services.

• Despite efforts to reduce cost, there are still large upward pressures on the City’s Budget. The two big ones this year: the cancellation of a Stormwater Fee and Inflation. Additionally, headwinds from the last few years are still having a huge impact.

• Administration is recommending a tax increase of 4.75%. While this is higher than I like to see, it is lower increase than a lot of other Alberta cities are facing. It will also still mean that taxes have only gone up by about half the rate of inflation over 8 years.

• The Grande Prairie Police Service (GPPS) is is budgeted to cost municipal taxpayers less in 2025 than it would’ve cost to maintain the status quo RCMP contract.

• There are a variety of service enhancements, service cuts, and non-tax revenue strategies that Administration is recommending Council consider.

Below is an unpacking of these five subjects.

Read More