Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, December 19, 2022
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some announcements.
Deputy Mayor Stephanie Price thanked Public Works staff on behalf of Mayor and Council for their work, especially during the ongoing cold snap, to ensure the Town’s facilities and infrastructure continue to operate.
***
Keith Hodgson, with the Drumheller Standing Committee on Health, presented council with a letter of support which is being sent to Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping and Alberta Health Services (AHS) official administrator Dr. John Cowell to advocate for better utilization of the Drumheller Health Centre, and for the facility to be recognized as a rural healthcare hub.
***
A review has been completed on the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) job performance; Mayor Colberg thanked CAO Darryl Drohomerski for the work he has done over the previous year.
Council unanimously approved increasing CAO Drohomerski’s salary based on his 2022 performance review.
***
Director of Corporate and Community Services Mauricio Reyes presented council with the 2023 utility rate bylaw.
Council previously adopted the new utility rate model for 2023 to 2027, which recommends an annual increase of three per cent for water, and six per cent for wastewater, along with moving solid waste and recycling services to utility operations beginning in 2023. The increases to water and wastewater fees will come into effect as of January 1, 2023 while the changes to solid waste will come into effect as of March 1, 2023.
Council passed the 2023 Utility Rate Bylaw unanimously.
***
Mr. Reyes presented council with the 2023 Operating Budget and four-year financial plan. The budget was previously brought forward at the December 5 regular council meeting, and the December 12 Committee of the Whole meeting for further discussion and consideration.
It is recommended there will be an estimated 4.8 per cent increase in tax revenues to meet municipal requirements in 2023.
Council adopted the 2023 Operating Budget (see story on Front, Page 2).
***
Council was also presented with the Fees, Rates, and Charges Bylaw by Mr. Reyes. It was recommended, as per the 2023 Operating Budget, to increase some fees by an approximate 2.5 per cent. It was also suggested some fees be added to Schedule A of the bylaw; these include fees recommended by the Drumheller Municipal Airport Commission in November, which will help the facility become self-sustaining.
Council gave unanimous consent to hold all three readings and passed the 2023 Fees, Rates, and Charges Bylaw.
***
Public hearings for proposed road closure bylaws for 9 Street NW (Hospital), East Coulee River Drive West, and East Coulee East were opened; there were a total of three in-person presentations-one presenter, for the East Coulee River Drive West closure, wanted some clarification on whether the proposed bylaw would impact the existing roadway, and two for East Coulee East closure who were opposed to the closure-and no written submissions.
Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on
www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.
