Kneehill County is taking a phased approach to its 2023 budget process, and administration began the first phase of presentations at the regular Tuesday, February 14 council meeting.
The first phase of the budget, called ‘Setting the Stage,’ provided an overview of the various factors impacting the municipality, assessments and strategies to ensure ongoing financial sustainability, and budget pressures anticipated in 2023.
“This (budget presentation) is a phased approach for us; today we are going through what we are calling ‘Setting the Stage,’ and the new projects that will be brought forward for council consideration,” explained Director of Corporate Services Kinza Barney.
Administration brought forward the second phase of presentations, which reviewed the core Operating Budget and budget book at the February 21 council meeting, with any questions requiring more in-depth discussion or presentation to be brought back at the February 28 council meeting.
Following the February 28 meeting, administration hopes to have all components ready to put together the finalized budget draft for consideration at the March 14 council meeting.
This phased approach will allow budget information to be presented to council in a digestible format over multiple meetings.
Ms. Barney noted the budget is also being prepared in compliance with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award program criteria; Kneehill County was awarded the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation in 2021 and 2022, and has made an ongoing commitment to continue receiving this award.
It is anticipated the 2023 Operating and Capital budgets will be adopted by council in mid-March.

Drumheller RCMP Detachment Commander Staff Sergeant Rob Harms presented councils in both the Town of Drumheller and Wheatland County with the quarterly policing report during the respective regular council meetings for each municipality on Tuesday, February 21.
Within the municipal detachment area, which encompasses the Town of Drumheller, there was an overall 12 per cent increase in criminal code offenses, while the rural detachment area-which encompasses parts of Kneehill County, Starland County, and Wheatland County-saw an overall seven per cent increase in criminal code offenses between 2021 and 2022.
The third quarterly report showed a reduction of 47 per cent in person crimes within the municipal detachment area, such as criminal harassment and assault, compared to the third quarter in 2021, with a year-over-year reduction of 18 per cent; in the rural detachment area there was an overall decrease in person crimes of 59 per cent compared to 2021, and a year-over-year reduction of 10 per cent.
Drumheller RCMP are currently in the process of developing its community priorities for the 2023-2024 fiscal year beginning in April. The detachment held three town hall meetings in Drumheller, and the villages of Carbon and Delia, and held a public engagement survey to determine the priorities of the communities within the detachment area for the coming year.
S/Sgt Harms noted, based on preliminary data from the survey, it appears similar priorities-accountability to stakeholders, community engagement, and reducing substance abuse-are still top priorities for the area. He noted each priority is also given its own set of goals or targets, and S/Sgt Harms explained the department has currently met or exceeded these targets and goals.
The top priority indicated by the survey was drug enforcement and education.
S/Sgt Harms expressed, in his experience, drug and substance abuse often has a “close correlation” with property crimes, and shared education and enforcement plays a very key role in harm reduction.
He also noted Strathmore RCMP detachment has also seen similar offences occurring in its rural detachment area as Drumheller. S/Sgt Harms indicated he had met with Strathmore RCMP Detachment Commander S/Sgt Mark Wielgosz to discuss these common issues, and have formed an informal alliance between the two detachments to help better serve their respective jurisdictions.
During his presentation to Wheatland County, S/Sgt Harms indicated the most significant increase in calls was for Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs), with a year over year increase of 63 per cent. This sentiment was also echoed later in the meeting by Strathmore RCMP S/Sgt Wielgosz.
Both noted inclement weather was a likely key factor in this increase, though some of these were also due to distracted driving and other factors. Within the Drumheller municipal detachment area, MVCs had actually declined by about six per cent year over year, from a total of 48 reported incidents in 2021 compared to 45 in 2022; statistics for the Strathmore RCMP third quarterly report were not available.
S/Sgt Harms also explained the detachment had held a checkstop campaign in December, with some great success.
A total of 336 vehicles were checked during this campaign, which resulted in a total of six impaired drivers being removed from the road. While the results were overall positive, with less than two per cent of drivers being under the influence, S/Sgt Harms stated, “I am somewhat disappointed that in 2022, going into 2023, we’re still dealing with impaired drivers on the roads. It’s something I think we need to keep focusing on.”