Correction
This story originally said the draft budget would result in a "roughly $5.5 million surplus" if approved as-is. This was based on a misinterpretation of a chart presented to council. The draft budget does not feature a surplus. The $5.5 million figure was in fact the amount of money the county would need to collect through additional taxation to fund the budget. The Gazette apologizes for this error.
This story was updated Nov. 8, 2022, with additional information from county budget officers on the size of the budget and its tax impact on the average home.
Sturgeon County residents will pay about 6.5 per cent more tax next year if county council approves the first-draft version of its 2023 budget.
Sturgeon County councillors received the first draft of the 2023 budget Oct. 27.
The budget, if approved, would see the county spend some $125.9 million on various initiatives, which would require about $5.5 million in additional tax revenue.
Council would need to raise taxes by about 6.5 per cent to fund such a budget, council heard. About 2.1 per cent of this hike would go toward 23 proposed service enhancements to grass mowing, animal control, and other services. The rest accounted for inflation, provincial downloading of policing costs, and other factors. Residential water and sewer rates were also set to rise two per cent under the draft budget.
In a Nov. 8 email, county administration said a 6.5 per cent tax hike would add about $118 to the annual tax bill of a typical Sturgeon County home.
New services
Administration spent much of Oct. 27 pitching various service enhancements to council.
County chief operations officer Scott MacDougall had nine of them, including the hiring of a corporate energy and environmental sustainability supervisor for $138,710.
This was currently a temporary position funded by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, council learned. The position had already saved the county $23,330 a year through energy audits and cut the county’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 82 tonnes, and could result in greater savings if made permanent.
MacDougall proposed hiring two operators for $107,900 to boost snow removal in light of increased rates of freezing rain and heavy snowfall. He also proposed $215,350 to continue the enhanced mowing program the county introduced this year, which had reduced grass-related complaints from residents by 65 per cent compared to last year.
Coun. Neal Comeau questioned the enhanced mowing, saying that the county should instead contract grass-cutters as needed since grass growth varied so much each year.
County general manager of development and strategic services Travis Peter proposed $129,300 to hire a peace officer for proactive enforcement of development permit conditions regarding special events, agribusiness, and gravel extraction.
Mayor Alanna Hnatiw supported this item, saying the county had heard loud and clear that it had a credibility issue when it came to enforcing the bylaws it passed.
Also in the draft budget were $180,000 for cybersecurity and $130,000 for an agriculture master plan.
Council ideas
Hnatiw proposed that the county give the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation ongoing support for Jessie’s House, which had sheltered some 240 people as of last August but had to turn away 600 more. She suggested $10,000 over five years — equivalent to a 0.012 per cent tax hike.
Hnatiw also called on council to investigate the cost of returning the county’s gravel pit by Villeneuve to the Michel Band. The pit sits on what was once the band’s land, and the county should work with the band on its use and restoration.
“These are not easy conversations,” she said, noting that the entire Villeneuve Airport was also once part of the Michel Band, but they would not get easier if they were ignored.
Coun. Dan Derouin called for additional peace officers, which administration said would cost about $130,000 per officer (not including patrol cars).
Coun. Deanna Stang proposed ongoing funding for the county’s truth and reconciliation efforts, which administration pegged at roughly $179,000.
Council was to debate changes to the budget Nov. 23-24 and vote on it Dec. 13. The draft budget was available in the agenda package for the Oct. 27 county council meeting (bit.ly/3SRY2QE).
