City budget trimmed by $1.580 million as budget deliberations conclude

The City of Prince Albert’s Budget Committee concluded deliberations today following 2.5 days of line-by-line review of the General Fund this week. The final recommended budget was ultimately reduced by $1.580 million from the increase originally proposed by Administration.

“This has been a tough budget year. Inflation has driven costs up across our operations with $400,000 in increases alone in insurance and provincial utility costs,” said Mayor Dionne. “Fortunately, we are also seeing revenues recover following years of reduced attendance at City facilities because of Covid-19.”

The budget proposed by Administration recommended a $3.079 million increase in the amount to be funded by property tax. Following deliberations that amount is now $1.580 million.

“This is a focused budget that targets spending in areas that are important to residents,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “This Council is committed to investing in the infrastructure and services that make Prince Albert a great place to live. This year, we have once again prioritized spending in parks and playgrounds and repaving another $4.1 million in City streets.”

In the 2023 budget, there are no cuts to existing service levels and new investments will be made in services levels for the City’s snow operations and fire department. Resources have also been approved to invest in the City’s Information Technology department to build up the reliability of the City’s online network and improve online service offerings.

Notable projects this year include:

$150,000	Playground replacement/upgrades
$60,000	Park Pathways (areas identified for improvements: James Isbister Midtown, Cook drive, Lake Estates, A.C Howard Park)
$210,000	Little Red Phase 3 Improvements 4 Accessible Outdoor Washrooms to be located throughout the Park Warm Up Shelter – 16x24 – for four Season Programming with solar panels and a wood stove
$25,000	Boat Launch design for River Street East and West to improve access for the public and Emergency Services
$60,000	Cooke Municipal Golf Course Pathway network improvements
$150,600	Two additional Roadways/Snow Operator crew members
$277,300	Three Fire Fighters to achieve minimum staffing on 4 platoons
$100,500	One Infrastructure Systems Analyst in the Information Technology Department to support implementation of new projects
$4.1 M	Roadways Recapping Program to repave city streets

The budget recommendations will be forwarded to an upcoming City Council meeting for final approval in December. Once approved, the next step in the process will be a decision regarding a tax plan which will finalize how the tax rate will impact different properties. Council will meet again to review options including minimum tax rates, base tax rates and the mill rate. This review is expected in March when the final tax rates will be set for 2023.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Mayor Greg Dionne
(306) 953-4300

Sherry Person
City Manager
(306) 953-4395