City Council listens to the proposed budget for 2023-2024. (Photo Courtesy Gates Guarin)

By Gates Guarin

2023-2024 city budget officially presented to Council

Nov 7, 2022 | 10:23 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – City administration has presented City Council with its proposals for the budget affecting 2023 and 2024.

Council heard from several members of the budget team who outlined several pieces of the budget, including operations, commodity based business and impacts on rate supported utilities.

Dennis Egert, managing director and chief financial officer for the city, outlined the objectives of this budget. Objectives include “providing competitive property tax rates and utility rates”, and “preserving high quality municipal and utility services valued by residents”.

The biggest takeaway for Hatters is the increase to the property tax. City administration is proposing a four per cent increase to the current property tax.

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The presentation included several factors which went into the decision process of the proposed budget. Egert listed the new council’s strategic plan, the impact and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the volatility of commodity prices, among others, as factors which went into the curation of the budget.

City controller Vanessa Bonneville then presented the operations portion of the budget. Part of the reasoning for the proposed property tax increase was to make up for an approximate $7.5 million shortfall from a zero per cent tax increase in 2020 and 2021.

Bonneville also outlined a cash shortfall for the next two years: $11 million in 2023 and $6 million in 2024. Administration is forecasting the shortfall to be resolved by 2025 based on contributions being made to the Heritage Savings Fund becoming fully endowed by that time.

Bonneville spoke on council’s strategic priorities and how it would be reflected in the budget. 56 per cent of the proposed capital budget would go towards resilience and sustainability, which focuses on infrastructure renewal of parks, trails, culture & recreation facilities, roads and bridges. 17 per cent would be centered on service orientation, focusing on parks accessibility, and culture and entertainment facility equipment renewal. A further 16 per cent would be put towards community wellness, including community housing infrastructure renewal, an off-leash dog park development, and an Echodale Regional Park improvement program.

Municipal Services business support manager Jared Dickie presented on the impacts the budget will have on rate supported utilities. While natural gas and electricity commodity prices were not included in the proposed budget, there were some takeaways. Expect to see a jump in water, sewer and solid waste rates on your utility bills. Water saw a significant increase, jumping six per cent in 2023 alone. This translates to an increase of approximately $2.75 per month on average before climbing another 4.5 per cent in 2024.

City manager Glenn Feltham outlined the importance of the budgetary process for municipalities like Medicine Hat.

“It is important that we continue to focus on our costs, both operating & capital,” Feltham says. “It is also important that we continue to focus on revenue generation; this includes both municipal taxes, and utility rates.”

There were no deliberations or discussions during the meeting. A special open committee meeting will be held on Nov. 16, and will be open to the public. The meeting is scheduled in order to hold open discussion and consultation on the budget. Deliberations will continue at the next open council meeting on Nov. 21, with the potential for the budget to be passed at that time. The budget must be passed by Jan. 1, 2023.