Drumheller Town Council approved its tax-supported operating budget which shows an approximate 1.9 per cent increase.
At the April 11 Special Council Meeting, Council passed the 2022 property tax-supported operations budget, reflecting a municipal requisition of $9,147,735.
Combined with the Education tax and other requisitions the anticipated tax rate will be approximately 1.9 per cent. A homeowner of a $300,000 property would see an increase of $66 per year, or $5.50 a month.
“I think bringing it down from the 3.2 to the 1.9 is something more manageable in light of the increased costs we’re looking at this year. I’m satisfied with the outcome of it and it’s a budget I can support for this year,” Drumheller Councillor Tony Lacher stated during the special meeting.
Administration brought the proposed budget forward for first reading at the March 7 regular council meeting. The second reading of the budget went before Council on March 21, 2022, and the proposed budget of $9,273,404, or an increase of 3.2 per cent, was unanimously defeated with clear direction from council to consider reductions.
Council requested a cost breakdown of labour against revenue at both the Drumheller Aquaplex and Badlands Community Facility to discover if there are further financial efficiencies needing to be addressed.
As per the 2022/23 Provincial Budget, Alberta Education requisitions have been increased by 1.5 per cent. Additionally, in 2021, the Federal government announced a collective agreement had been reached under the Municipal Policing Services Agreement. This resulted in a significant increase of over $100,000 in policing costs to Drumheller residents in 2022, primarily due to salary adjustments extending back approximately five years.
Earlier this year, Administration conducted research on municipal requisitions in some comparable municipalities. The range of expected tax increases in these municipalities is between 1.72 per cent and 4.9 per cent. The Town of Drumheller’s tax increase is among the lowest among these comparable municipalities.
Administration has prepared the 4-Year Operating Plan (“the Operating Plan”), which starts in 2022 and comes to an end in 2025. The Operating Plan evolves based on the needs of the community and organization, which provides council a forecast of operating expenditures over the next four years.
This plan is available on drumheller.ca.
