Airdrie council approved its final recommended budget on Nov. 20, which comes with an impact of an additional $12.24 per month on the average Airdrie household or $146.91 annually.
The tax increase will generate $5.2 million for the City of Airdrie, of which 55 per cent will go to municipal services and 45 per cent to capital investments.
Further broken down, for an additional $6.76 per month, residents will pay for municipal services including;
- Four new RCMP officers;
- Four new firefighters;
- Two lifeguards;
- Increased levels in transit services and anti-icing of roads
- A permanent veterans memorial;
- Increased advocacy efforts at the provincial and federal levels of government;
- And increased tax stabilization fund contribution.
For an additional $5.48 per month, residents tax dollars will pay for capital projects including;
- Life-cycling of $1.3 billion of the existing asset base;
- And new capital assets, including splash park, portable skateboard park, basketball courts, fire dispatch system, road rehabilitation, and intersection improvements.
Coun. Ron Chapman confirmed that the new capital assets portion does not include a new splash park, rather it includes upgrades to the existing park.
The overall effect on a medium Airdrie business with an assessed value of $850,000 will be an annual tax increase of $559 or $46 per month.
Additional to the tax increase, the utility budget requires $54.6 million to operate water, sewer, and waste services.
This means the average bill in Airdrie will increase by $5.92 in 2024, said Meghan Bigney, Manager of Finance with the City.
“As a reminder, these increases are mainly due to rising water and sewer costs coming from the City of Calgary, increased sewer pre-treatment chemical costs and increased fees seen in waste and recycling collection and disposal,” said Bigney.
The approved budget totals
The approved operating budget for 2024 totals $207 million, with $152 million to deliver tax supported city services and $55 million to deliver water, sewer, and waste management services.
The approved 2024 capital budget totals $131.6 million, which is $15.1 million more than originally recommended by administration.
Major projects in 2024 include the Highland Park Fire Station, the start of the Southwest Regional Recreation Centre, the Ed Eggerer Artificial Turf Field, the Ron Ebbesen Arena mid-lifecycle renovation, Financial Enterprise Software, and various roads and utility projects.
“The capital projects are anticipated to grow steadily in the future years to address growing community needs, reaching $1.1B over the ten year capital plan,” Bigney said.
Bigney and Shannon Schindeler, Director of Corporate Services, presented the final recommended budget to council on Nov. 20.
Schindeler said a $6 million deficit existed following budget deliberations, which is covered by $838,000 from the general operating reserve to fund one time expenses in 2024 and $5.2 million raised in taxes.
Of the tax generated funds, $2.3 million will go to capital investments and $2.9 million are for municipal services.
An additional $3 million projected in growth revenue also helped to close the gap, said Schindeler.
As a reminder, Schindeler noted that the municipal portion is approximately 67 per cent of the total property tax bill; 32 per cent is collected on behalf of the province for education tax and one per cent is collected on behalf of Rocky View Foundation for low rental housing units for seniors residing in Rocky View County.
Before the budget was approved by council, Mayor Peter Brown stated that council has come to a consensus about the budget after three days of deliberations.
“Let’s move forward and keep going here in Airdrie,” he said.
Budget deliberations took place over three meetings on Nov. 7, 9, and 14. During those meetings, Council Budget Committee (CBC) discussed budget items in depth and made changes.
