Dry conditions in and around St. Albert means the city is unlikely to hold a mortgage burning party, but staff are pretty happy they have officially retired one of its few remaining debentures.
Ed Kaeming of the city’s finance department confirmed the city on Wednesday officially paid off the $5.568 million debt it took on to build the Public Works Jack Kraft Facility. Completed in 1999, the 48,000 sq. ft. building houses the city’s public works crews and equipment, as well as its office of the environment.
That debenture had been costing the city $563,968.86 annually to service, Kaeming said.
“It’s no longer part of the budget process,” said Kaeming.
That means the city only now has borrowing for two projects on the books – Servus Credit Union Place and Ray Gibbon Drive, accounting for $56.821 million of total debt, well below the city’s provincially legislated maximum debt limit of almost $250 million.
“From my point of view it’s good to see retired debt continually decline,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse. “I think debt would have to be taken as a last resort.”
The City of St. Albert has actually retired four other debts since June of 2011 – one debenture for the RCMP detachment was paid off in June 2011, as was a loan for an energy savings program. A loan for a second energy savings program reached maturity in March of 2012, along with a loan that was used to build the Mark Messier and Troy Murray Arenas in Campbell.
Before all five of those debts were paid off, the city was servicing a total of $70.861 million in debt.
Crouse said the city now needs to resist the urge to take on further debt.
“And there’s always this pressure to think that we’ve freed up this money so what else can spend money on. You always have to resist it,” Crouse said.
If no other city council authorizes borrowing in the interim, the city will be debt-free by Sept. 15, 2028 when the last debenture for Ray Gibbon Drive is paid off. There are three loans for Servus Credit Union Place, two of which will be paid off in 2024 and one in 2025.
Of the four loans for Ray Gibbon Drive, the first will reach maturity in 2019, with the remainder being paid off in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
