(Image Credit: Town of Sylvan Lake budget/Supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

No tax rate increase

Sylvan Lake town council approves operating budget

Mar 26, 2026 | 11:11 AM

The Sylvan Lake town council has approved the 2026 operating budget, resulting in no tax rate increase.

They approved the budget during the regular council meeting on Wednesday, more specifically, a $60.3 million operating budget and a $20.8 million capital budget.

There is no tax rate increase this year; however, residents will still see their property taxes go up because of an increase in property assessment values and an increase in the provincial government’s education tax.

According to the town, in terms of property assessments, the average single-family home increased 7.5 per cent in 2026 to $448,282. They said residential assessments made up the majority of the increases, whereas commercial and non-residential assessments were up marginally since 2025.

In the meantime, the education requisition the province collects from municipalities will increase in Sylvan by $1.5 million or 18.2 per cent.

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There will also be a 2.50 per cent increase in utility bills because of increased costs. The town also wants to save more money and rebuild its reserves. On average, a utility bill cost $178.60 per month in 2025 but will increase to $183.06 in 2026.

Some of the budget highlights include four additional seasonal bylaw officers, focused on enforcement and writing tickets, five additional parks staff to handle garbage collection, washroom cleaning, and general lakefront maintenance. There will also be increases to parking fees near the lakefront to $50 per day or $5 per hour.

The highlights of the operating budget are as follows:

(Image Credit: Town of Sylvan Lake budget/Supplied)