Council Approves the 2023 Operating and Capital Budget
On December 20, 2022, Council approved the Operating and Capital Budget for 2023. Overall, the total budget for the County of Wetaskiwin is $51.7 million with $23.2 million coming from municipal tax support.
Regarding the $51.7 million, this amount covers all expected municipal operations, capital projects and requisitions that the County collects on behalf of the Wetaskiwin and Area Lodge Authority for seniors housing facilities and Government of Alberta for education and provincial RCMP costs. In 2023, the provincial RCMP costs will increase from $534,077 to $783,659.
What impact does the budget have on taxes?
Overall, the average residential municipal taxes (based on a $315,000 assessment) will increase by 3.99% which includes the increase from the Government of Alberta for RCMP funding. The County’s Mill Rate will be set in 2023 after the provincial assessment numbers and education requisition are received upon tabling of the Provincial Budget.
What do I get for my Residential Tax Dollars?
The County’s 2023 Budget maintains a consistent level of service for County residents based on Council strategic plan while recognizing for impacts inflation has had on all services provided by the County.
“Early on in the budget process this year, council had set a target of a 4% increase including the RCMP requisition increase of 47%, a rather tall order considering all the financial impacts facing the County” said Reeve Josh Bishop. “In the spring of 2022, I had talked about the need to start addressing the structural deficit created by multiple 0% municipal increases. This Budget will take the long game approach by raising the rates much less than the current inflation rate knowing that a steady rate over a few years will be easier to absorb than a large (hopefully one year) inflation spike.”
For further information on the County’s budget, please contact Rod Hawken, Chief Administrative Officer, at (780) 361-6225 or email.