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By rdnewsNOW staff

march 10 meeting

City council to finalize 2026 operating budget and three-year plan

Mar 6, 2026 | 3:24 PM

Red Deer city council will consider the 2026 adopted operating budget, and three-year operating plan at its March 10 meeting.

This is a required step under the Municipal Government Act, and enables council to consider the 2026 tax rate bylaw in April.

According to the city, following reconciliation of the interim budget, administration incorporated several technical updates, including adjustments to base calculations and confirmations of previously approved items. These updates ensure accuracy and alignment with council direction and do not independently increase property taxes, they explain.

The reconciliation updates include:

• Adjustments to base expense calculations to ensure alignment with year-end financial data
• Confirmation of carry-forward funding for previously approved one-time projects
• Technical updates related to the Downtown Business Association
• Inclusion of a vacancy provision not reflected in the Interim total calculation
• A minor correction to provincial grant in place of taxes funding

march 10 meeting

City council to finalize 2026 operating budget and three-year plan

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After incorporating the reconciled figures, the fully balanced budget results in a 4.08 percent increase.

The report therefore presents two options for council’s consideration:

• Option 1 includes an additional $200,000 reduction to align with a 3.97 percent municipal property tax increase (as approved in the Interim Budget).
• Option 2 adopts the budget as reconciled, resulting in a 4.08 percent municipal property tax increase.

The full council agenda and report are available at meetings.reddeer.ca.