The town's preliminary 2014 operating and capital budgets that were approved on Dec. 9 do not call for any tax increase.
The operating budget is $24,073,555 while the capital budget is $4,497,200. The budget contains a tax requirement of $7,451,595 from taxpayers, which Garth Lucas, the town's corporate services director, said has been generated by an estimated 3.1 per cent increase in property assessment in 2014 over 2013. Assessment numbers will be finalized in March and Lucas said the result is a negligible if any municipal tax increase to the average property owner.
“The operating costs (have increased) 3.2 per cent, which is a little higher than the rate of inflation, but we have covered that with the new development around town and so at this point in time we're not looking for any tax increase,” Lucas said in an interview after the meeting.
The budget will be finalized in the spring after the town receives requisitions for items such as the education levy collected on behalf of the provincial government and a levy collected on behalf of Mountain View Seniors' Housing.
A one per cent increase in town staff salaries was included in the budget, down from an estimated 1.4 per cent increase proposed about three weeks ago when the first numbers were presented to council. The increase is based on the rate of inflation calculated in October. Since earlier months' rates of inflation were trending higher than October's, a higher inflation rate was used previously when considering staff salary increases.
Lucas told council he planned to spend about $75,000 on snow removal in 2014, about the same amount as 2013. But because estimating that is an inexact science, he said the plan is to budget that amount for 2014 and take from reserves, if necessary.
Asked by Coun. Debbie Bennett Dubak during the meeting about permit fees, Lucas said the town does have lower permit fees than other comparable communities and that a recommendation will be coming forward in the future on possibly raising them.
The town plans to spend $250,000 for upgrading and maintaining trails in town as well as $100,000 as part of the parks and trails master plan, which council adopted at the Dec. 9 meeting.
Mayor Judy Dahl said she sees a continual improvement in town services since she became mayor in 2004 and since she moved to Olds in 1986.
“I believe and council believes in responsible growth. We're taking into mind where we need to work the hardest to save tax dollars. Some of those areas include infiltration of water. And we're really excited as council as a whole to bring the entire town on board with the blue bin (recycling) project. We've had a lot of people talking about it in the past and were confused as to why they weren't included, so it's a real honour to have everybody on board with this,” she said in an interview.
It's estimated everyone in town could get blue bin service by the spring. Purchasing the bins is estimated to cost the town $200,000 and each household in Olds would need to pay an additional $1.50 per month for the blue bin program.
The town plans to spend $4.4 million of the 2014 capital budget on water and wastewater infrastructure, recreation projects, road and trail projects and vehicles and equipment. Upgrading water, sewer and storm-water infrastructure in the uptown core is the first priority while upgrading water and sewer infrastructure on 53 Street is the second priority.
The budget at this point contains no increase to water and wastewater rates for 2014.
Water and wastewater rates could change, however, once the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater and Mountain View Regional Water Services commissions approve their final budgets in the spring.
If those commissions approve rate increases, the increases will be passed directly to users in Olds.
