A water pipeline, land for future cemetery expansion, fire department support and paying down the Town’s debt are among the top priorities in Okotoks’ proposed 2017 budget.
Homeowners are facing a proposed two per cent increase in the municipal share of property taxes in 2017. This exceeds the 2016 municipal price index (MPI) of 1.7 per cent, which measures the rate of inflation as seen by municipalities.
“Our guideline was the two per cent we were given in September and we’re developing a budget based on those guidelines,” said Rolland Russell, Okotoks finance and systems director. “Council may choose to bend their guidelines, we don’t know what their desire is.”
No changes are currently considered for non-residential properties, which are proposed to remain at 38 per cent above the residential rate.
The budget proposes just over $54 million in revenues and $46.2 million in expenses, with the rest going to reserve funds and debt repayment.
The number one budget priority for 2017 is a planned pipeline from Calgary. The pipeline is listed in the proposed budget, with a $16.3 million cost covered by an Alberta Municipal Water Wastewater Program grant, though the Town has not secured the grant at this time.
“We’re hoping the Province will step up with funding of up to 50 per cent and administration and council are pursuing that,” said Russell. “Our best information is that the Province will make a decision in conjunction with its 2017-2018 budget, which should be released next spring.”
The overall cost of the pipeline is projected at $35 million, and it will be large enough to service the Town’s needs as well as the surrounding region. Russell said the Town is hopeful expanding the scope of the project to a regional approach will help secure the funding.
Coun. Ken Heemeryck, chair of the Town’s finance and budget committee, said the water pipeline is at the top of the list of capital projects, though it’s unclear when government funding will be available.
“Not knowing with 100 per cent certainty, it’s a line item in our budget, so that means we’ve budgeted for it, so that would be debt-financed without funding,” said Heemeryck. “My understanding is if there was grant funding to come in we would incur less debt.”
He said the Town has the capacity to take on debt for a water pipeline over two years, should it come to that.
Water has been the Town’s greatest priority for years and with an end to the water supply in sight it’s time to build a pipeline, he said.
“We’ve got a plan to get funding, hopefully, from the Province, but now’s the time to put it in the budget and proceed,” said Heemeryck.
Aside from the pipeline, he said the proposed budget should be similar to 2016 numbers within a per cent or two. It’s a tight budget in a tight economy, he said.
The proposed budget includes a $3.1 million debt repayment, $450,000 for the purchase of additional cemetery land, and $20,000 to develop an education station in the attic at the Okotoks Heritage House Museum and Archives.
The budget also includes requests from the fire department to hire four part-time fully-trained firefighters, build a new training facility and purchase new radios.
Okotoks fire chief Ken Thevenot said the four firefighters were brought on in August to supplement the department.
“We boosted our ranks up from 32 to 36,” said Thevenot. “Primarily these individuals are used as a paid response, so a part-time basis for taking shifts.”
The $100,000 training facility is proposed to be outside the former Town operations centre, he said. It would allow firefighters on-shift to train within Okotoks borders and still be able to respond to emergencies.
Currently, training days are set up at facilities in Calgary, and crew members are paid overtime on their days off to train while the fire station is backfilled with other members, he said.
“We’re thinking down the road if we could do the training on-shift and within our town borders, that would be a real asset to us,” said Thevenot.
The fire department is also looking to invest $150,000 toward the end of 2017 for new radios, as part of the Province’s Alberta First Responder Radio Communications System (AFRRCS), which promises to improve communication between different agencies like fire, police and municipal enforcement.
The total cost of the radios for Okotoks Fire will be $300,000, which is being split over two budget years, said Thevenot. New towers have already been installed through the Province to accommodate the AFRRCS system, he said.
“In our area with the foothills and different dead areas we have around here, we could alleviate that problem,” said Thevenot.
