(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

further savings sought

BUDGET: Tax hike cut in half, could fall further this spring

Jan 13, 2020 | 6:36 PM

Following five days of Operating Budget debate, Red Deer city council has managed to lower the projected property tax hike by nearly half, with an even further decrease being sought.

One of council’s primary objectives in light of the tough economic times was to find about any means possible to reduce the property tax increase. That number began at 2.48 per cent heading into debate and ended at 1.26.

It could dip lower to 0.97 per cent if, as directed, City staff can find an additional $400,000 in savings between now and when the tax bylaw comes back to council for approval this spring.

“Our goal is to always keep the budget and cost of living in Red Deer as affordable as possible without compromising our ability to provide quality services to our citizens,” said Mayor Tara Veer, who further described this year’s budget as including what the City needs, as opposed to what it might want.

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“Administration met council’s guidelines set in the spring, but with the continued economic recession, we need to find further savings which will result in a significantly reduced budget than we were originally expecting.”

City Manager Allan Seabrooke said Monday, “We will achieve that,” referring to finding the extra savings. He characterized this budget as one that maintains the status quo.

“Much like the Capital Budget, the Operating Budget is focused on maintaining current service levels. Cost savings were achieved where possible and we are able to honour previous commitments focusing on community safety by maintaining the added member complement in the RCMP,” said Seabrooke. “Council provided direction to administration to find an additional reduction of $400,000, and we’ll take the next six weeks to comb through the budget to identify further cost savings while minimizing impacts on our citizens and staff.”

A property tax increase of 0.97 per cent equates to a $1.87/month ($22.46/year) increase on the average home’s property tax bill.

As for utilities, they will also go up once again in 2020; Electric, Light and Power increases 2.19 per cent, and Water, Wastewater and Waste Management each go up 2.50 per cent.

There are no service cuts in the areas of transportation or parks and rec.

For more on where city council reduced the budget, and other budget coverage, read our story from Friday: Council whittles tax hike down, reduces capital contribution by half.