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By Jeff Henson
COUNTY OF GP

County of Grande Prairie finalizes 2023 budget

Apr 21, 2023 | 1:01 PM

Residents in the County of Grande Prairie will not see any increases to the municipal tax rate portion of their taxes.

County council finalized its budget for 2023 this week, which Reeve Bob Marshall said in a news release was done by balancing impacts to residents while dealing with significant increases in many areas, such as utilities and general inflation.

The County also pointed to lost revenue from provincial changes to assessment rules, as well as over $1.4 million in unpaid property taxes from the oil and gas industry as putting further strain on their budget decisions.

The $195.1 million budget includes approximately $106.7 million for general operations, $81.7 million for capital investments, and $6.7 million for debt payments.

Approximately 59 per cent of the capital budget has been earmarked for road and bridge projects, with $39.6 million of the budget is set aside for projects continued from previous years, while $22.4 million is being invested in new capital road and bridge projects.

That includes 16.3 km of surface road overlay work slated o take place this year.

The following is a list of road and bridge projects planned for the 2023 season:

· Range Road 30 south of Highway 43 (Knelsen Pit Road) – overlay 4.88 km

· Range Road 71 and Township Road 711 south of Township Road 712 – overlay 4.60 km

· Crossroads South Industrial Park – overlay 3.02 km

· County Industrial Park Access Road (Range Road 61) – overlay 1.60 km

· Richmond Hill Estates rehabilitation – overlay 1.30 km

· 100 Street in the Highway 43 West Industrial Park – Overlay 0.90 km

· $2.5 million for the Kleskun Creek Bridge replacement

· $2.4 million for spot construction projects

· $910,000 for Bridge Replacement at Tributary to Kleskun Creek

· $250,000 for Bridge culvert improvements to Range Road 74 between Highway 43 and Township 712

Other highlights of the capital portion of the budget include:

· $7 million toward the $25 million total construction cost of the Regional Enforcement Services and RCMP Detachment Building in the Hamlet of Clairmont. Construction is expected to be complete by 2025

· $1.8 million for the new Teepee Creek Fire Hall

· $1.1 million for a pedestrian trail from the new Highway 40 bridge underpass to Township Road 704A through the future Wapiti Recreation Area

· $250,000 per year over two years for an asset management system

· $204,000 for the third and final phase of IT equipment and network server replacement project, a total of $849,000

· $179,680 to replace vehicle extraction tools for Regional Fire Service

· $169,267 for improvements to Bear Lake campground

· $87,000 for facility improvements to improve user experience at the Crosslink County Sportsplex, including a replacement batting cage and lighting enhancements

· $51,000 for road and fencing improvements at the Clairmont Centre for Recycling and Waste Management

· $40,000 for improvements at the Old Bezanson Townsite campground and day use area

· $13,000 for repairs to Riverview Pine playground.

The $106.4 million operating budget for 2023 includes:

· $6.5 million in recreation, community, culture, FCSS, seniors and special needs transportation, and library grants to various organizations

· $2.6 million in Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) Contributions, cost sharing agreements with other with other municipalities, including the City of Grande Prairie and the towns of Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, and Wembley

· $2.8 million in transfers to the provincial government for RCMP policing costs

· An estimated $1.3 million to the City of Grande Prairie for the tax sharing agreement to be allocated to projects fostering regional development (share of municipal tax revenue – 20 per cent from the co-generational facility and 10 per cent on any new commercial/industrial development in areas serviced by Aquatera)

· $792,000 in additional utility costs to operate County facilities

· $750,000 for ditch maintenance to improve drainage across the County

· $241,000 for operational improvements for the Hythe water treatment system, including required licensing and connection to the remote operating system

· $235,000 to review the County’s electoral boundaries as required by the province after the dissolution of Hythe

· $150,000 to inventory and develop a management plan for stormwater infrastructure

· $100,000 to update the landfill masterplan for the Clairmont Centre for Recycling and Waste Management as required by the province every 10 years

· $61,000 for annual business visitation surveys to inform Economic Development programs.

by Jeff Henson