BOYLE — Less than one week after the government of Alberta released it’s 2024-25 budget, Village of Boyle councillors approved their own fiscal framework for the coming year. Although the documents are significantly different in scale, Mayor Colin Derko echoed Finance Minister Nate Horner’s sentiment and praised the village’s plan for its “hold the line” disposition.
After more than five months of deliberation and planning by councillors and administration, balanced operational and capital budgets were adopted during the March 6 council meeting with a vote of 4-0 — Coun. Mike Antal was absent.
“I’m pretty proud of this budget,” said Derko. “We maintained, and actually increased, level of service; we’ve got a plan for our infrastructure to be repaired and upgraded over time.
While tax rates for the year aren’t set in stone, both Derko and administration expect little change. Property assessments will be sent out to residents in May, and chief operating officer Warren Griffin said minor changes to the village’s assessment aren’t expected to be reflected in tax increases. However, he noted that the final math will be done in the coming weeks.
“Administration did a fantastic job of doing what we asked of them to do,” said Derko. “In times when our residents are struggling to put food on the table, making sure they’ve got heat, talking about gas prices going up … I think this budget is sympathetic and empathetic to all of that.”
Boyle is forecasting a capital surplus of over $71,000 for the year, with over $1.4 million in projected capital expenditures. The village is expected to consume more than $6.2 million operationally, balanced by a mirrored revenue figure.
“Our capital spending is probably almost half, maybe a little more than half of what we had listed last year,” said Griffin. Two of the larger projects on the list — including a fire pump and generator set backup which comes with a price tag of $500,000 — are dependent on grant approval.
The departments seeing the largest capital investments are water at $500,000, sewer at over $300,000, with $190,000 slated for road improvements. Recreation in the village is also getting attention; capital projects for the arena, ball diamonds, and Boyle Community Centre will see $148,000 put into the facilities in 2024, and more than $1 million over the next four years.
Capital plans
Under Boyle’s capital plan for 2024, the largest project is the replacement of a fire pump and purchase of a backup generator set, equipment Griffin said will aid with water pressure for residents and first responders in the case of a fire. Over $126,000 of the half-a-million-dollar bill will be footed by the village, and the other $373,000 is expected to be covered by provincial funds.
New lift station pumps, investment into the lagoon spillway, and a lift station generator will upgrade the sewer department to the tune of $301,000, also subject to grant approval.
The implementation of a new chip sealing program, which Griffin said will prolong road life and delay major construction, will cost $100,000. Crack sealing will take another $15,000, and four new welcome signs along the highways entering the village will tack on $75,000.
“The ones that are currently up there, I think they went up in the ‘80s or ‘90s,” said Griffin. “We’re fighting keeping them from falling over in the wind. They’ve served us well, but they’re tired,” he added.
Boyle’s Fire Hall is slated for $65,000 in fixes this year: the main floor will be repaired and finished with an epoxy coat to preserve its longevity, and new flooring will be installed on the second floor.
Close to $50,000 has been delegated to a new liner and a streaming camera for the rink, and $60,000 is going towards resurfacing ball diamond #2 this year. The Community Centre will also get a bit of TLC, with a $35,000 investment into the dance floor refurbishment.
From 2025 to 2028, Boyle is projecting to spend an additional $110,000 on the ball diamonds, $750,000 on ice-making equipment for the arena, and under $250,000 on a new Wille utility loader.
Funding requests from the Boyle Youth Centre, Boyle Fitness Centre, and Words Work Literacy, an adult learning service based in Athabasca, were also granted. The Youth Centre and Fitness Centre will each receive $15,000, up from $12,000 split between both organizations in 2023.
Some $1,000 was given to Words Work to cover their looming funding gap and support for Athabasca County Family and Community Support Services increased by an extra $1,600.
“There’re things that we could spend a lot of money on and make all kinds of what I call ‘sexy’ projects, but I think we’re holding the line and getting the stuff that needs to be done, keeping in mind that there’s tough costs for individuals that are living in this community,” said Derko.
Operational projections
The village is expecting to see more than $1.6 million in tax revenue in 2024, with the lion’s share of almost $800,000 coming from residential property fees. While the village’s commercial, industrial, and residential tax revenue have increased, both Griffin and Derko are hoping to avoid hikes in 2024 due to revenue boons stemming from interest rates.
Water purchases for the year are projected to be higher than 2023, with an additional $34,300 in water costs. Despite the increased operational costs, water is expected to run a surplus of over $29,000.
Gas purchases will total $510,000 this year, and revenues for the department are forecast to reach over $1 million. If all goes to plan, gas is looking at a year-end surplus of almost $330,000.
A jump of $60,000 is expected in general revenue, up from $90,000 in 2023 to $150,000 in 2024 — Griffin said the main driver for the increase is high interest rates.
“As much as interest rates are not great for people wanting to buy a home or to spend money on development … this is the other side of that coin,” he said.
Griffin noted the $12,500 budgeted for a helipad assessment of the Boyle hospital site, one of the first steps toward re-certifying the village’s air ambulance landing pad. During the meeting, councillors voted to proceed with the site assessment and again requested a cost-sharing agreement with Athabasca County.
And on top of the capital funds slated for the rink, salaries for the facility have increased by $100,000 this year after two part-time maintenance positions were converted to full-time. Griffin said the changes were prompted by a lack of interest in part-time work, and a need for support in other areas, such as outdoor maintenance in the summer.
“Hopefully our residents will appreciate the fact that level of service is higher than it’s ever been, and the infrastructure is going to be fixed properly,” said Derko.
