WESTLOCK – Westlock County Council approved its $1.9 million capital budget during their regular meeting Feb. 11.
The final budget has a decrease of $25,000 with the revised capital budget being $1,931,635.
“It is a decrease of $25,000, which was the Rainbow Park facility,” said Faraja Amanda, general manager, corporate services.
Coun. Sherri Provencal asked why there was a decrease for Rainbow Park. Administration said that the capital budget was done prior to them receiving the recreation master plan and they now want to first do a concept plan for the park.
Items still in the capital budget include IT servers, asset management plan and software, one water tender, and fire standpipes, as well as upgrades to Westlock County playgrounds, the Tawatinaw Ski Hill, and Long Island Lake.
Ratepayers won’t know if they will see an increase in their taxes until council sets the mill rate, likely in March.
In December, the county had approved its 2025 interim capital budget of $1.956 million and operating budget of $21.1 million.
Capital projects will be funded by a combination of reserves, grants, and sale proceeds.
The operating budget will increase by about 1.3 per cent from last year’s operating budget of $20.9 million, said Amanda. For its 2025 operating budget, the county expects to receive approximately $11,532,127 in municipal taxes. This is about $118,627, or one per cent, less than the previous year.
