Medicine Hat council will vote on the changes to the savings fund at a meeting in September. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat to create new reserve funds, rejig heritage savings

Aug 27, 2024 | 8:46 PM

The City of Medicine Hat is set to create a pair of new reserve funds in preparation for the future.

The abandonment reserve fund will help the city save for its debt and reclamation obligations. The other new reserve will stockpile cash for the energy transition.

Both funds will kick off with an initial $75,000 investment from the city’s unrestricted cash, upon council approval in September.

The corporate services committee last week gave its approval to the new funds as well as changes to the heritage fund.

Upon council approval, the Heritage Savings Fund will become the Medicine Hat Endowment Fund.

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City finance director Lola Barta said the changes define how the investments made from the fund could be used, saying staff looked at three areas.

“Financial sustainability, which would help narrow that budget gap and help support the municipal operations on a go-forward basis,” Barta told CHAT News.

“It could also be used for economic development, making sure that the City of Medicine Hat continues to grow and promote new businesses coming here and so on,” she added.

“Then the third was community livability, so making sure that we look at how we make sure that Medicine Hat continues to be a great place to live and work.”

The creation of the new funds and changes to the heritage savings fund will come forward for council approval at the Sept. 16 public meeting.