BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors unanimously approved the interim 2024 operating and capital budgets during their Dec. 19 meeting.
The budget is necessary so that the municipality can continue to operate until it passes its final budget, which is scheduled to come before the council for approval in mid-April. The property tax bylaw, which sets the mill rate, is approved after the final budget, usually at the same meeting.
The interim operating budget is just under $18.5 million while the interim capital budget is pegged at nearly $6.5 million and includes the purchase or construction of slightly more than $4.7 million in capital assets. Another $1.7 million is slated for reserves for future asset replacements.
"The reason why we [adopt an interim budget] rather than going straight to the final document is to give us ample time to ensure what our grant funding is, receive our property assessment is and what last year's results are and if we have any accumulated surpluses that we can move into the next year capital or operating reserves," county manager Debbie Oyarzun said.
Finance director Tamara Molzahn said councillors helped shape the interim budgets through a series of budget workshops in September, October and November, along with a strategic priorities workshop.
She noted the operating budget includes a 3.34 per cent cost of living adjustment (COLA) for county staff.
"Any joint budgets with [the Town of Barrhead] include a four per cent as approved by the town," Molzahn said.
2024 priority operational projects
Molzahn noted that in the fall, council identified several priority projects, including shoulder pulls or road rehab budgeted at $198,000; gravel pit development at the Moosewallow pit; road base stabilization on existing oiled roads; water reservoir inspection and cleanout; seasonal administration support and the clean energy improvement program.
Oyarzun clarified that the stabilization on existing oiled roads is for the ones outside subdivisions.
Interim budget expenditures by function
Transportation and road maintenance make up the most significant portion, accounting for over 40 per cent of the operational budget at nearly $7.6 million.
The subsequent largest expenditure is the school requisition (provincial education tax) at around $2.6 million, utilities and waste management at $2.4 million general services and administration at just under $1.8 million protective services (fire, police and bylaw enforcement) at nearly $1.4 million recreation and cultural services at $915,060, agricultural services at $828,455, planning and development at $439,223 legislative services and elections at $370,143, community support services (FCSS) at $77,149, social housing requisition (Barrhead and District Social Housing) at $121,083 and the designated industrial requisition for the province at $12,705.
Notable operation budget changes
The operational budget for legislative and elections has increased slightly by 0.8 per cent. Molzahan said this is due to increases in council and committee members per diems and also includes the 3.34 per cent COLA wage increase.
Similarly, the administration budget has increased by 6.9 per cent, mainly due to staff merit and COLA pay increases. Molzahn added that the budget increased due to the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC) feasibility study the county is undertaking with the Town of Barrhead to see if the mostly unused building can be converted into a joint municipal centre and the hiring of an additional seasonal employee.
Protective services and emergency management
Protective services include the Barrhead Regional Fire Services, ambulance, policing (including bylaw enforcement), ambulance and STARS Air Ambulance contributions, the county staff safety program, and the municipality's contribution to the Barrhead and Area Regional Crime Coalition (BARCC).
The fire services budget has increased by roughly $20,700 or 3.6 per cent on the protective services front, including merit pay increases and 4 per cent COLA for the fire department.
Molzhan noted the fire department is a joint service with each municipality responsible for paying responses in their jurisdiction, with the fixed costs and administration shared equally.
One area that has seen a drastic increase in the budget is enhanced police services, which has jumped by over 60 per cent to over $400,000. Enhanced police services include bylaw, the police costing model, Barrhead and Area Regional Crime Coalition (BARCC) and the school resource officer.
"[The increase] is due to the [provincial] changes in the police costing model requiring communities to pay for a substantial part of their policing costs," she said.
Molzahn added that although in 2024, the county has included a community policing department, the increase in the budget is minimal as they redirected funds they had been using to contract out the service.
The county's largest operations expenditure, public works, sees a modest 1.4 per cent increase, or roughly $80,000 to just under $7.5 million.
One of the reasons she said they could basically hold the line on the public works budget is that most of the 2024 road reconstruction program will be funded through provincial grants and reserves rather than tax revenue.
Capital budget
Once again, transportation takes up the lion's share of the capital budget, nearly 70 per cent or nearly $3.2 million, followed by general administration at nearly $1.5 million, utilities and waste management at $109,500, agricultural services at $40,000 and protective services at $5,950.
Molzahn said the administration is so high because they have a planned renovation to the municipal offices in the new year.
Planned 2024 capital expenditures include a bridge replacement, three road reconstruction projects totalling nearly 10 kilometres, a blade mower retrofit, the previously mentioned municipal office renos and the construction of a bulk storage building.
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