Medicine Hat city council meets for a public council meeting Monday evening. File Photo/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat council holds public meeting, confirms departure of city clerk

Jul 15, 2024 | 6:30 PM

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Medicine Hat city council has started meeting tonight for a crucial budget meeting to finalize a list of approved capital and operating projects for 2025-26.

The proposed $36-million capital and $10-million operating budgets would result in a 5.1 per cent tax increase, adding $133 per year to the median bill for a home valued at $315,000.

Staff said 2.3 per cent of that increase is due to inflation, 2.2 per cent due to new projects and the rest for budget gap coverage with the aim of reaching a balanced budget by 2026.

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Those numbers could all change depending on the final budget.

READ: Council votes Monday on approved projects after deliberation phase

Among the 55 proposed “New Growth Opportunities” funded by the budgets are $9.5 million for a food waste facility, $6.3 million for the twinning of a water line and $4.9 million for a Brier Park gravity bypass for the sewer system.

Other projects include $468,000 in capital funding for cyber security upgrades, $1.5 million for landfill upgrades and over $2.5 million for water main replacement and upgrades, among other capital and operating budget expenses.

Projects among a total list of some 80 proposals that were not recommended include money for the HALO Air Ambulance and utility relief.

Council was introduced to the major project list at its June 25 committee-of-the-whole budget meeting.

A follow up on July 9 allowed for council to deliberate the items in a vote to confirm the list during its July 15 regular public meeting.

READ: Medicine Hat city clerk exits role amid leadership crisis

While council will choose what makes the list of approved projects on Monday, it can later decide to remove or add items anytime before budget approval late this year.

After Monday, council won’t have any specific budget deliberations until October but there could be items that pop up on regular agendas that will impact the next budget.

Coun. Ramona Robins confirmed that city clerk Larry Randle has left the job behind and called him “a real gentleman”.

Medicine Hat’s next city clerk will be Tarolyn Aaserud, the outgoing CAO at Cypress County.

Aaserud confirmed to CHAT News earlier today that she will take the role on after the Labour Day long weekend.

The city’s Shape Your City page has full details on the entirety of the budget.

Public meetings can be watched in-person at city hall or online via the city’s YouTube channel.