Council Notes - April 19th, 2022
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Council Notes-April 19th, 2022
Mill Rate Bylaw. Council has passed the 2022 Mill Rate Bylaw. The Town of Edson’s overall taxable assessment has increased by 2.39%. This is used to generate the taxation revenue and is what drives the mill rate calculations for Municipal taxes, School, and Evergreens Requisitions. This has led to a slight increase in the municipal residential and non-residential mill rates. The mill rate refers to the amount of tax payable per $1000 of a property’s assessed value.
2022 Residential Mill rates:
Municipal mill rate – 6.3126 mills (2021 mill rate – 6.0950 mills)
Evergreens Foundation mill rate – 0.5195 mills (2021 mill rate – 0.4531 mills)
School mill rate - 2.6631 mills (2021 mill rate – 2.6854 mills)
2022 Total Combined mill rate – 9.4952 mills (2021 mill rate – 9.2335 mills)
2022 Non-residential Mill rates:
Municipal mill rate – 15.2443 mills (2021 mill rate – 14.9624 mills)
Evergreens Foundation mill rate – 0.5195 mills (2021 mill rate – 0.4531 mills)
School mill rate - 3.8880 mills (2021 mill rate – 4.0157 mills)
2022 Total Combined mill rate – 19.6518 mills (2021 mill rate – 19.4312 mills)
Final Capital Budget. Council has approved the 2022 Revised Capital Budget. The budget includes a few carry-over projects from 2021, as well as Vision Park diamond and playground upgrades, Glenwood Park upgrades, funding for highway crossing lights, over $2 million towards the Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project, and more.
The total Capital Budget amounts to $32,166,192, funded 21.3% from reserves, 0.5% from cost-sharing, and 78.2% from grants.
Final Operating Budget. The Operating budget has been passed with a 5.22% municipal tax increase from the 2021 budget. The total Operating expenditures are $24,817,662, and total taxation to be generated is $11,996,736.
About 2.60% of that increase is to offset the COVID recovery plan, which included a taxation decrease in the 2020 emergency budget. This change will reduce the 5-6 year COVID recovery plan to 2 years. It also decreases the total amount of reserves required to offset taxes, improving the Town’s financial position and ability to respond to future challenges and new priorities.
Inflationary pressures also make up a large portion of the taxation increase, with about 2% going to increased electricity costs alone.
Council also directed Administration to bring forward a plan for lighting for the dog park and basketball courts at Griffiths Park for Council’s consideration, and to include a proposal for the burying of overhead power lines in the vicinity of Mary Bergeron School.
A full budget recap is available online at www.edson.ca/budget.
Fee Changes. Council has approved some changes to the Fees, Rates, and Charges Bylaw. A partial review of rates was completed, including comparisons to other municipalities and industry averages to ensure a fair and principled approach. A more comprehensive review is planned prior to the 2023 budget process. The aim is to also to move towards cost recovery in some areas.
As such, Council has approved the following changes to go into effect June 1st, 2022:
Utilities
Water increase of $0.16/m2 to $1.47
Sewer increase of $0.01/m2 to $1.51
Landfill
Construction/Demo Materials – from $30 to $50/tonne
Wet Waste – from $0.21/kg to $0.25/kg
Weigh Scale Fee of $20
Minimum charge – from $5 to $10
Other changes include adjustments to development fees, as well as airport and cemetery fees. The full bylaw can be found at www.edson.ca/bylaws.
Financial Statements. The 2021 Year End Consolidated Financial Statements were approved as presented. The statements will now be sent to Municipal Affairs and posted to our website.
Multi-Use Facility Update. With the two bids coming in substantially over budget, Council has voted to reject all proposals received on March 25th, 2022 for the Design build of the YCE Multi-Use Facility. Council has also passed a motion to direct the Steering committee to work on alternative proposals to ensure an equivalent project is built for our community.
Yellowhead Regional Waste Management Authority Agreements. Council has confirmed Yellowhead County as the administrative head of the Yellowhead Regional Waste Management Authority. As well, Council has accepted the Yellowhead Regional Waste Management Authority and Management Agreements as presented.
Next meetings - The next Council Meeting is scheduled for May 3rd, 2022, at 7:00 pm. The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for May 10th, 2022, at 7:00 pm.
Agenda/Information package HERE
App users view the video HERE