St. Albert is forecasting a $1.5 million surplus in the city's annual first quarter corporate report for 2025, significantly higher than the initial forecasted surplus of $322,000 in the first quarter last year.
City council received the report, authored by the city's chief administrative officer Bill Fletcher, at the May 20 city council meeting.
Half a million dollars of the surplus was incorporated into the approved 2025 Budget Adjustment Agenda report. The remaining $1 million was attributed to a one-time Low-Income Transit grant of $559,000 and savings in RCMP contract expense. RCMP contract billing adjustments were about $250,000 lower related to vacant positions in 2024.
Although the news of the surplus could be seen as good news for the city's budget, at least for Coun. Ken MacKay, these first-quarter reports aren't something he takes very much stock in.
"If you look year over year, you'll see a lot of variance. And as we get closer to quarter four and the actual budget preparation, you're going to start to see a little bit more rigour and more of those numbers actually firming and rounding off," MacKay said. He added that they obviously would like to see an anticipated surplus than an anticipated deficit.
"It would cause me much more concern if these were the numbers — not even concern. It would cause me to question why. Why didn't we have that adequately reflected in the actual budget so that we're not running these big surpluses," he said.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said that although the number is significantly higher than it was in 2024 or in other years previous, it's difficult to indicate if it means 2025 will end with a strong surplus.
"It's unusually high for the first quarter, which would indicate likelihood of having a very strong surplus again, but because of the one time grant... we don't really have an indication of really where it's going to go," Hughes said.
The city projected a $10.8 million surplus in 2024, and in 2023, the city posted a surplus of $4.58 million.
"I just want to kind of wait and see the second and third quarter," said Hughes. "The first quarter is not very indicative of what the final will be."
Additionally, water connection fee revenue was about $100,000 higher than budget. This was attributed to a trending growth of development in the report. Corporate Financing revenue is also $404,000 higher than budget. Some of this is due to the province re-implementing the Grant in Place of Taxes (GPOT) program in Budget 2025, $75,000 higher in supplementary tax billing, and $282,000 higher in gas and electricity franchise fees.
General government expense was $109,000 lower than budget, with $98,000 less in costs sharing for the Edmonton Metropolitan Regional Board (EMRB), due to the board's dissolution at the end of March 2025.
In terms of the debt picture in the first quarter, the city has $99.6 million in debt outstanding as of March 31, relating to eight projects:
- Ray Gibbon Drive – $31.1 million, expiring in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2040 and 2041
- Range Road 260 – $16.5 million, expiring in 2041
- North St. Albert Trail – $33.6 million, expiring in 2033, 2040 and 2041
- North Interceptor Trunkline – $7.2 million expiring in 2038
- Servus Place – $0.4 million expiring in 2025
- Villeneuve Road – $4.6 million expiring in 2033
- Fountain Park – $3.7 million expiring in 2034
- CEIP Loan – $2.5 million expiring in 2035
MacKay was particularly reassured by the retirement of Servus Place's debt this year.
"It just shows that council and administration use sound financial principles," he said. "Going back into 2004 there was a great deal of concern that we were financing this big project by debt and that we had to put this levy on everybody's tax."
"It's a great thing to see," said Hughes. "People have been looking forward to actually seeing that completely paid off. It's been a long term project and we've gotten a lot of patience and commitment from the community to continue to weather this."
