A residential property tax increase of 2.1 per cent is proposed in the draft municipal operating budget for St. Albert.
Council deliberations on the budget kicked off Tuesday with a presentation from city manager Patrick Draper.
Draper, interviewed before the presentation, said the proposed budget is “very fiscally responsible” especially given inflation rates and the increasing cost of construction.
St. Albert is on the cusp of a significant growth curve in residential, commercial and industrial areas, Draper said, and in the next few years those plans will come to fruition.
“One of the challenges that we’ll be faced with … is addressing how we fund growth,” he said, noting those coming to St. Albert will likely want the same service access as current residents.
Commercial and industrial property tax rates have a proposed increase of 2.15 per cent in the draft.
The residential tax increase of 2.1 per cent would represent an increase of $65 over 2013’s taxes on a property assessed at $400,000. The non-residential rate would represent a $98 per cent increase over 2013 on a property valued at the same.
The budget and corporate business plan projects $2.1 million in assessment growth in 2014. The suggestion is to use that growth to help fund 32 new business cases, which total $1.8 million.
Draper said that’s because new growth also means new demands on city services.
“You have to be very careful of balancing the new incremental revenue with new incremental cost,” Draper said.
The municipal operating budget does include $4.8 million in capital costs. Draper said the capital budget totals $26.5 million, much of which will be covered by grants.
The municipal operating budget revenues from non-property tax sources are expected to be over $45 million and the expenses $128.8 million. The difference of about $83-million will be funded by property taxes.
Utility rates are currently set to increase 6.5 per cent in 2014, impacting the average monthly bill with a $7.59 increase.
Staff were able to find $784,000 in savings for 2014 after finding over $1 million in efficiencies for the 2013 budget. Draper said that means the ability to find efficiencies in the future will “get pretty thin.”
As part of Draper’s presentation, charts outline St. Albert’s expenditures per capita, coming in as the lowest amongst Alberta’s mid-sized cities. Draper said that’s because while St. Albert’s property taxes are high, other revenue options other cities use aren’t as significant here.
“Yes, our residential property taxes are higher than other communities but our taxes from other sources like franchise fees are significantly lower,” Draper said.
Three budget town halls are scheduled for this week, starting tonight at Bellerose Composite High School with a traditional town hall format. A round table format town hall will be Thursday at St. Albert Catholic High School and an e-town hall will run on Friday. All town halls run from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The budget documents, as well as a schedule of council’s budget deliberation meetings, are available online at www.stalbert.ca/budget2014.
Proposed 2014 budget
Residential property tax increase: 2.1 per cent <br />Operating budget total: $128.8-million<br />Proposed new business cases: 32<br />Capital budget: $26.5 million<br />Project assessement growth: $2.1-million<br />Utility rate increase: 6.5 per cent<br />Note: all numbers are part of the draft budget, which has not yet been approved by council
