Council has put its final stamp of approval on the 2012 budget, which will see property taxes increase 2.8 per cent and a 9.5-per-cent hike in utility rates.
Councillors first debated and voted on six outstanding motions before signing off on the utility, capital and operating budgets for the coming year. At 2.8 per cent, council managed to bring the increase .01 per cent below administration's recommendation.
"After four or five weeks of deliberations, it's somewhat different but somewhat similar in the final result. Council has worked hard, administration has worked hard. It's time to pass this and we need to move on," said Coun. Cathy Heron.
In total, the capital budget will feature $69 million in spending, with an additional $21 million for capital utility work. The operating budget will come in at almost $120 million.
Remaining motions
Council first had to tackle six outstanding motions with budget implications before the budget could be passed.
Coun. Cam MacKay amended his motion to reduce the training budget by $125,000 to instead slash it by $50,000. Council approved the motion after it saw up-to-date numbers that showed the 2011 training budget would come in with a surplus of $60,000.
"If we're asking the public for money, we better spend it," MacKay said, also noting funds for training had been consistently over budget for the last three years. "There's no risk of lawyers or planners losing their certifications."
Council also approved a motion by Mayor Nolan Crouse to add $25,000 each to the operating and capital budgets for a Special Olympics legacy. It also signed off another motion by the mayor to add $6,000 to the budget so St. Albert could be involved in the 2012 Communities in Bloom National Symposium on Parks and Grounds, taking place in the Capital region in October.
"Given our brand, we need to become involved somehow in hosting the event," Crouse said.
A motion to fund utilities at the Michif Cultural and Resources Institute to the tune of $7,500 also passed.
Two other motions failed. MacKay had sought add $5,000 in funding for NABI on the belief that the $10,000 approved in the budget would put them in a deficit position, but Coun. Wes Brodhead pointed out the incubator would still carry a surplus without the money. Council defeated the motion and an amendment by Coun. Malcolm Parker to restore funding to the original $20,000 requested.
After some consultation, councillors also rejected one last plan by Coun. Len Bracko to include $534,000 for a functional alignment study that would examine extending LRT from the future south park and ride to the north of St. Albert. Many councillors commended Bracko on his vision and hard work, but were not prepared to invest in planning for a project many believe is decades away.
"What's going to drive [LRT construction] is population growth, economic growth and density," Parker argued. "Until we have that, why would we build it?"
Looking back
The six-week budget review kicked off at the end of October with administration's presentation of the draft budget, which council accepted and referred to committee of the whole. After hearing several evenings' worth of presentations from all affected departments, councillors worked their way through approximately 70 separate motions before referring the budget to council for approval.
Highlights of those motions include resurrecting and fast tracking the whistle cessation program to stop trains from whistling in the middle of the night, partially funding the new Spirit of St. Albert Society, a group that wants to keep some of the 150th celebrations alive, running, full-day transit service to Northridge, a new RCMP sergeant and thousands of dollars in new tree plantings and replacements across the city.
