County of Grande Prairie councillors will be back around the table Monday as they kick off up to three days of final budget deliberations before ultimately approving a municipal budget for 2025.
Back in the fall, council approved the interim 2025 budget with a $3.96 million deficit, which includes funding in roads, water and sewer infrastructure, and intermunicipal for recreation and culture cost-sharing. Despite the approval, council at the time deferred any discussion around property taxes to final budget deliberations as administration contunues to work toward reducing the deficit.
“Council’s goal is to ensure we can continue to provide the services our residents enjoy that contribute to their overall quality of life,” said Reeve Bob Marshall following the approval of the interim budget.
“We have opted to move any discussion around property taxes to final budget, however a moderate tax increase should be expected. In past years when residents saw no increase in property taxes, Council was accessing reserves and withdrawing more from savings than we were able to replenish.
Overall, the $174.3 million budget includes an estimated $115.7 million for general operations and $58.6 million for capital investments.
Deliberations will take place April 15th-17th at the County of Grande Prairie Administration Building in Clairmont.