Lacombe County Council adopts 2018 interim budgets

Lacombe County Council adopted the County’s 2018 interim operating and capital budgets on their Dec. 1 meeting.
The budgets continue to follow priorities set out in the County’s Strategic Plan and its long-range road construction and capital equipment replacement plans. They also reflect the desire to support the maintenance of existing service levels, while undertaking some new initiatives, such as funding for an RCMP enhanced position to help combat crime in our area.
The $56,315,470 interim operating budget is balanced and is supported by a 2.5 per cent property tax rate increase for residential properties and 4.5 per sent property tax rate increase for all other properties and a transfer of $322,300 from the tax rate stabilization reserve.
The 2.5 per cent property tax rate increase represents an additional $24.40 in taxes on a $400,000 residential property.
The 2018 interim capital budget, which provides for revenues and expenditures of $26,602,690, saw an increase of $7.066 million from last year’s budget. Highlights of the capital budget includes wastewater infrastructure improvements to the Hamlet Mirror’s wastewater storage system totaling $54,000.
While the interim operating and capital budgets are approved in December of each year, the final budgets and tax rates are not set until the following spring, when the property tax levy for education purposes is set by the province and property assessment values have been confirmed.