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By rdnewsNOW staff

Priorities and considerations

City of Red Deer approves guidelines to develop 2027 budget

Mar 25, 2026 | 10:40 AM

Red Deer city council unanimously approved budget guidelines to direct administration in preparing the city’s 2027 budget.

The City of Red Deer says the guidelines provide clear direction on financial priorities, planning considerations and process expectations.

This, in turn, will help ensure the proposed budget reflects council’s focus on long-term sustainability, infrastructure investment, and community affordability.

“Council’s approval of these guidelines gives administration clear direction to move forward with preparing the 2027 budget,” said Tricia Hercina, Executive Director of Corporate Performance and Supports, in a media release. “This early guidance ensures our work is aligned with Council’s priorities and allows us to focus our efforts on building a balanced, responsible budget for the community.”

This comes after a Committee of the Whole meeting on March 4, during which council discussed financial pressures and priorities for the budget cycle.

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As a result, administration will begin work to form the proposed budget for deliberations later in the year.

The guidelines as per the City of Red Deer include: 

• Administration should prepare the 2027 budget with a focus on balanced tax decisions that reflect both affordability and responsible long-term financial stewardship. 

• Administration should prioritize core infrastructure funding and lifecycle investment in the 2027 budget, highlighting when risk tolerances have shifted. 

• Administration should avoid strategies that defer financial pressures into the future simply to minimize short-term rate increases. 

• Administration should ensure reserve sustainability and compliance with minimum thresholds remain a consideration in the 2027 budget and have a plan to meet in the near future.

• Administration could present options that balance service levels, infrastructure investment, and affordability considerations.