The draft 2015 city budget was released on Monday with an overall 3.3 per cent property tax increase on the table.
Here are some of the highlights of proposed items being considered by council in the coming weeks.
Operating budget
The city's proposed municipal operating budget for the year is $90.6-million. When staff are writing the operating budget, policy prevents them from increasing or decreasing service levels at the city without direction from city council to do so.
Business cases are the term used for these proposed new investments by the city. According to city manager Patrick Draper, these proposed investments would come out of money collected from new assessment growth – property taxes being collected for the first time in 2015 – and don't impact the 2015 tax rate, as the new assessment growth is budgeted separately from the rest of the operating budget.
However, in future years these positions and projects would have operating budget impact, which means property tax implications. Most of the business cases marked as "funded" in this year' budget involve new positions being added.
The following are highlights from this year's new operating costs.
New staff
Cost in 2015: $1.16 million
The 24.5 new "full-time equivalent" staff positions being sought include a graphic designer, communications adviser, human resources co-ordinator, a geographical information services analyst, IT generalist, IT service desk technician, cultural resource co-ordinator, fund development associate, social master plan co-ordinator, municipal enforcement officer, parks planning and capital project co-ordinator, recreation and parks facility scheduler, six full-time "front-line" service positions for recreation and parks, a recreation business and marketing position, a Starbucks assistant store supervisor, a transportation infrastructure and safety engineer, a safety code officer, a public works tree staffer, a manager of parks operations and a grant co-ordinator.
Public safety maintenance
Cost in 2015: $145,500
Adding money towards adding nine RCMP officers in the next three years in pursuit of the officer to population ration of 1:1000 codified in the police services long term departmental plan
Transit service to growth areas
Cost in 2015: $90,900
Transit service to new high density residential areas in north St. Albert.
Interim park and ride
Cost in 2015: $150,000
Funding for interim park and ride spaces until the planned Campbell park and ride centre is completed.
2015 Capital charters
St. Albert's capital projects are paid for out of a combination of grants, reserves and an infusion of money from the operating budget. That transfer is calculated by the capital funding formula. The city divides municipal capital budgets into two categories, one addresses repair and maintenance issues for city infrastructure that's approved earlier in the year and the other are projects that are related to the city's growing side, referred to as the growth capital budget.
This year's planned repair, maintain and replace budget sits at $19.2 million and the growth budget at $16.7 million.
Highlights from both the proposed growth and repair and maintenance capital budgets:
St. Anne realignment
Cost in 2015: $4.18-million
The cost to buy land and start construction of the planned realignment of St. Anne Street, which will extend St. Anne from St. Thomas Street to Taché Street as part of the downtown area revitalization plan.
Asphalt overlays
Collector and local roads
Cost in 2015: $3.5 million
Arterial roads
Cost in 2015: $1.8 million
Part of the city's ongoing program to remove a top layer of asphalt and replace it with new asphalt in order to delay the need to completely rebuild the road.
Collector road reconstruction
Collector roads
Cost in 2015: $2.1 million
A total reconstruction of a roadway deemed to be a collector road in St. Albert. The project charter names Hudson Road as the project for 2015, however it's noted that could change if there's a greater need on a different road.
New buses
Cost in 2015: $3.2 million
New buses to be purchased in 2015 to expand St. Albert's transit services, including two electric buses.
Replacement buses
Cost in 2015: $2.5 million
Buses to be purchased or rebuilt as part of the city's repair, replace and maintenance program.
Heritage sites Phase 2
Cost in 2015: $1.52 million
After budgeting a similar amount for assessment and stabilization in 2014, the second phase of this project is aimed at continuing conservation work for the Cunningham and Hogan Houses on Riverlot 24.
Public works equipment replacement
Cost in 2015: $1.32 million
Part of the city's ongoing plan to replace aging equipment and vehicles (except transit). In 2015 the list includes trucks, tandem snow plows, skid steers and other equipment.
Sidewalk repair
Cost in 2015: $1.27 million
Another ongoing project, every year the city tries to repair some more sidewalks. Part of the budget this year is to do some remediation work on a few bus pads around the city.
Utilities
Like the municipal capital budget, city staff divide it up into two categories, one that addresses repair and maintenance and one that covers new projects meant to address the needs of a growing St. Albert.
The total utility capital budget is $9.2-million. Most of the projects qualify as repair and maintenance, with one projecting counting as a growth-related project.
Some examples of utility capital projects:
Storm water level of service
Cost in 2015: $3.3 million
Upgrading the city's storm system to meet modern design standards, including new infrastructure in some older neighbourhoods.
Storm water infrastructure rehabilitation
Cost in 2015: $1.6 million
A multi-year project, this is a program meant to assess and rehabilitate and possibly upgrade storm water infrastructure.
Meter reader technology update
Cost in 2015: $1 million
Part of a three year project to implement new water meters in the city to allow automated reading and transmission of data.
