Budget 2023

Our Evolving Local Context

The City is committed to being fiscally responsible and achieving financial sustainability. As we begin to recover from impacts such as slower than anticipated COVID-19 revenue recovery, reduction in capital grant funding, and rising inflationary costs, the City is focused on living within its means and ensuring that tax increases are mitigated where possible.

The City has invested in infrastructure projects and initiatives like the twinning of Ray Gibbon Drive and the annexation of land from Sturgeon County. This is to support non-residential growth opportunities in West St. Albert and to support revenue diversification. However, the yields from these initiatives are likely several years out which requires an ongoing commitment to reviewing City core services and programs, and other fiscal levers to limit tax increases today.

For the City of St. Albert to merely maintain existing service levels without adding any new projects or services, a tax increase of 8.2 per cent would be required. Understanding the burden that poses for residents during an already challenging time, Council directed Administration to develop a proposed budget for 2023 with a tax increase in the range of 3 to 5 per cent.

The proposed budget that was developed would result in a 4.6 per cent tax increase, or an increase of $15 per month to the average household (valued at $450,000). To achieve this, the proposed budget includes the following:

• Council-approved 5 per cent increase in Electrical Franchise Fees, amounting to a $1.7 million increase in revenue
• Library transfer reduction of $500,000
• Several one-time adjustments/reductions:
  • Using $1.4 million from the surplus reserve funds
  • Reduction of $258,000 in the public art reserve transfer
  • Reduction of $250,000 in the community capital transfer
  • Reduction of $413,000 in costs due to the Fountain Park closure until July 2023.

View the Proposed Budget Document

View the Proposed Budget Website

Change is hard

It is not possible to maintain current services with modest tax increases. To keep taxes low, this upcoming process for the 2023 Budget will prompt conversation on trade-offs and hard choices to ensure long-term sustainability.

The City needs to ensure the provision of our community's most valued programs and services is balanced. We are engaging the community to provide input to City Council to help inform decision-making based on community priorities and the financial realities of our City.

Service levels currently provided have been captured in broad categories to help us start, prioritizing where we might do more, less or the same.