Town of Drumheller council has approved the 2025 Operating budget of over $22.04 million and its 2025 Capital budget of $5.0 million during the regular Monday, December 16 council meeting.
Chief Financial Officer Victoria Chan explained this includes a proposed increase to the residential tax rate of three per cent and a total withdrawal from reserves of $443,544; there is a total of $2.9 million in the Town’s Contingency Reserve as of December 31, 2023.
An increase of three per cent to residential property tax revenues was recommended and approved in conjunction with the use of the reserve. This is in line with other municipalities of similar sizes, including the Town of Strathmore which has approved a 3.62 per cent increase, and the Town of Blackfalds which has approved a 5.0 per cent increase for residential property taxes.
Ms. Chan noted the Town’s largest operating expenditure is its salaries and benefits, which represent an estimated 32.9 per cent of total expenses in the budget, or about $7.25 million in 2025, which is on par with other municipal governments with a unionized workforce. The proposed salaries and benefits outlined in the 2025 budget are also slightly lower than in 2024, by about $186,000; this is due to some reorganization within the Town and the completion of the Long Service award payout in 2024.
Earlier in the meeting, council had also approved the dissolution of the Airport Commission, which would eliminate the position of airport manager, reducing overall operating costs by approximately $90,000 annually.
In place of the Airport Commission, the Town will move to a third-party contractor to manage the airport; this will come into effect February 2025 and will be in effect for a three-year term.
Along with salaries and benefits, it is expected borrowing costs will be slightly higher in 2025 than in 2024. This is due to a new loan the Town is anticipated to take for the municipal contribution portion of the Flood Mitigation Project; this represents $5.15 million of the overall project cost of over $80 million which was funded by all levels of government, including the Town.
The full funding amount is not anticipated to be borrowed all at once to reduce borrowing costs, and it is anticipated any borrowing will be conducted on an as needed basis with a proposed $230,000 annually for repayment.
Furthermore, Ms. Chan noted the original loan of $6 million for the completion of the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) will reach maturity in June 2030. As of December 31, 2024 there is a projected balance remaining of $2.18 million.
Council also approved the 2025 Capital budget. This budget is composed of a total of 31 projects totalling $5 million.
Of this amount, an estimated $1.9 million will be funded through grants available at the provincial and federal level of government. This also includes some $6.1 million in carry forward projects which were previously approved by council in 2024; these are anticipated to have a completion date by December 31, 2025.
A project to upgrade the terrace at the BCF was deferred until 2026, which will allow administration to discuss the benefits and return on investment of the project prior to coming back to the table as part of the 2026 Capital Budget. Council also elected to eliminate the request for an outdoor pool boiler.
Earlier in the meeting, council approved an additional $300,000 in the 2025 Capital budget for completion of an airport fuel farm project. This project will replace two aging underground fuel tanks at the Drumheller Municipal Airport which have reached the end of their usable life, with one recently suffering significant issues which have resulted in its permanent shut down. This has left the airport running on a reduced fuel capacity, and the construction of the airport fuel farm will allow for the municipal airport to offer both aviation and Jet A1 fuel. Council had previously approved $450,000 in the 2024 budget for this project, with $70,000 in expenses year-to-date for design engineering.
