ATHABASCA –If you believe in saving money for a rainy day, Athabasca County’s latest proposed budget is right up your alley.
The 2025 budget will be the final plan this council approves — municipal elections will take place next October — and it seems councillors want their legacy to be a fiscally responsible one.
“The budget continues the path we’re on of looking to save money for the future and to plan ahead now,” said Reeve Brian Hall. “I’m especially proud of the fact that in the first draft there’s a couple of fire apparatus purchases that we are able to fund from savings we made specifically for that purpose. That’s good progress.”
Fiscal responsibility doesn’t mean the council is hoarding pennies, however. This year’s budget features full funding for the $2.2 million Colinton bridge replacement, paid on-call firefighters, replacements in the fire fleet, and much more.
“It’s awesome that the Colinton bridge replacement is a priority,” said Coun. Tracy Holland in an Oct. 10 email.
“The initial budget showed a great deal of work by administration to align it with the Athabasca County Strategic Plan (and) many highlights of the budget focused on improving services.”
The bridge has been out of operation since it was closed in May 2022 after safety concerns were identified with the existing structure.
The budget is a rough draft; the county doesn’t know its assessment value yet, which will impact how much money it has to spend, but administration has a rough approximation.
“Every budget we have done has been a little different. My favourite thing about budgets is that they’re always amenable,” said Coun. Kelly Chamzuk.
“I’m thrilled to see that asset management is a priority, from the Colinton bridge to water infrastructure. I believe this plan sets the pathway so a resident can see that their priorities matter.”
The county expects to make roughly $31.5 million in taxes, with 46 per cent coming from residential land and another 27 per cent coming from linear properties, including pipelines and railways. Expenses will total roughly $34.8 million, with $6 million in depreciation costs, meaning the county isn’t losing money from its coffers.
The biggest spend for the county is its transportation and infrastructure department, which takes up 54 per cent of its budget. The next largest spend, administration, only accounts for 13 per cent of the expenses.
Road maintenance is budgeted to come in at just below $12 million and will include a three-year shoulder pull plan that will cover the entire county, a new tandem plow/fifth wheel combo, and another tandem plow/water truck.
Four-and-a-half million are going towards road surfacing — administration will be bringing a complete listing of roads to an upcoming meeting — and the county is expecting to spend $2.5 million on gravel hauling.
According to supporting documents presented alongside the budget, Athabasca County has a population of 6,959, with a median age of 47.6. The labour force is comprised of 3,605 workers, with the primary industries being oil and gas and agriculture. Sixty-four per cent of eligible workers are employed, most within the county’s 105 registered businesses, and they earn an average household income of $105,000.
Shadia Amblie, Athabasca County’s director of corporate services, said the demographics can help council make long-term decisions or address shortages.
“If the rate of participation in the working population is low, we may conclude that there are more people who are unemployed or retired. Consequently, a significant increase in taxes or service costs could adversely affect them,” said Amblie.
“These considerations help us anticipate future budgets to effectively address changing factors.”
Athabasca County will have its second special budget meeting Oct. 22, with a third meeting set for Nov. 14 if needed. Councillors need to have an interim budget in place by Jan. 1, 2025.
