Red Deer City Council looking to keep tax increase just below 1%

From The City of Red Deer

2020 Operating Budget approved with direction for further reductions

After five days of deliberations, City Council approved a $389 million Operating Budget, reducing the proposed 2.49 per cent tax increase to 1.26 per cent with direction to identify further savings to reduce to 0.97 per cent.

To achieve the reduced tax rate, Council directed administration to identify an additional $400,000 in cost savings by the end of February.

“Our goal is to always keep the budget and cost of living in Red Deer as affordable as possible withoutcompromising our ability to provide quality services to our citizens,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “Administration met Council’s guidelines set in the spring, but with the continued economic recession, we need to find further savings which will result in a significantly reduced budget than we were originally expecting.”

To make the initial reductions to the proposed tax rate during deliberations, Council approved approximately $2.1 million in corporate cost savings, revenues, and efficiencies. These savings included eliminating a $500,000 transfer from operating to the operating reserve tax supported fund, as well as reducing the proposed 2020 capital contribution from one per cent to 0.5 per cent at a value of $682,000.

“In response to the economy, we have frozen staffing levels in 2020, with the exception of policing to address community safety challenges,” said Mayor Veer.

“Much like the Capital Budget, the Operating Budget is focused on maintaining current service levels. Cost savings were achieved where possible and we are able to honour previous commitments focusing on community safety by maintaining the added member complement in the RCMP,” said Allan Seabrooke, City Manager. “Council provided direction to administration to find an additional reduction of $400,000, and we’ll take the next six weeks to comb through the budget to identify further cost savings while minimizing impacts on our citizens and staff.”

Administration will bring a report back to Council at the end of February outlining the additional cost savings, giving time for the Tax Rate Bylaw to be adopted in April. The municipal tax rate will then be combined with the provincial education tax requisition and the requisition for the Piper Creek Foundation to determine how much property tax residents will pay.

For a home valued at $325,000, a homeowner will pay $2,338.09 in the municipal portion of their taxes based on a 0.97 per cent increase. This works out to an increase of $22.46 per year or $1.87 per month.

Residents can find out more about the 2020 Operating Budget by visiting The City’s website atwww.reddeer.ca/budget.City

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City of Red Deer

Pop-up Spray Park Thursday at Ecole Oriole Park School (5 Oldbury St)

Published on July 10, 2024

City of Red Deer

Join Red Deer Emergency Services, RCMP and Municipal Enforcement and keep cool every Thursday in July and August.

Beat the Heat pop-up spray parks are once again returning to a neighbourhood near you this summer!

Red Deerians are invited to join Red Deer Emergency Services as they use fire engines to create temporary spray parks every Thursday evening throughout July and August.

Pop-up spray parks will run from 6:30 – 8 p.m. in the following locations for summer 2024:

July 11 – Ecole Oriole Park School (5 Oldbury St)
July 18 – Fairview School Park (5901 55 St)
July 25 – Dawson Park (140 Davison Dr)
August 1 – St. Elizabeth Seton School Park (35 Addinell Ave)
August 8 – Kentwood Disc Golf Park (168 Kendrew Dr)
August 15 – Joseph Welsh School Park (4401 37 Ave)
August 22 – Father Henri Voisin School Park (60 Clearview Dr)

Municipal Policing Services and Red Deer RCMP will also be joining to offer police vehicle tours, and local partners from Red Deer Child Care Society, Red Deer Food Bank, Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre and community associations will be providing fun kid activities and treats.

Events are weather dependent and will not go ahead if weather warnings are in place. Please make sure to check The City’s social media pages each Thursday for updates.

For more information, visit reddeer.ca/popupsprayparks.

City of Red Deer

“Meet Me At The Park” Free drop in programing for kids at Kentwood’s St. Lorenzo School this week

Published on July 10, 2024

City of Red Deer

Looking for fun this summer? Want to get outside and enjoy our beautiful neighbourhood parks and green spaces? Join us for Meet Me at the Park – a free drop-in program for all ages!

Meet Me at the Park aims to bring our community together by offering informal and unstructured recreational opportunities that support physical activity, creativity, and social connection.

Each park location has amenities to compliment the program and when possible, a gathering space such as an Activity Centre may be available to provide washroom access. Please note that parents are responsible for their children at all times and must be available in case of an emergency. Children under six years are welcome to attend with a parent or guardian.

Activities may include the following:

Soccer/basketball/tennis/pickleball/badminton/baseball
Circuit courses, obstacle course
Block party & yard games
Arts and crafts
Gardening and nature fun

The program runs Monday to Thursday from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday’s from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

2024 Schedule

Date	Location	Address

July 8-12	St Lorenzo School	150 Kingston Drive
July 15-19	Don Campbell	99 Irving Crescent
July 22-26	Clearview Meadows	93 Cornett Drive
July 29 – Aug 2	Mountview Sunnybrook	4316 32 Street
Aug 6-9	Normandeau	49 Noble Avenue
Aug 12-16	Morrisroe East	35 McLean Street
Aug 19-23	Oriole Park	5 Ogden Avenue
Aug 26-30	West Park	3811 57 Avenue

Activities offered will vary from site to site based on the amenities available and will include a variety of options for unstructured creative play. Activities may change based on community interests and should provide options for all ages and abilities.

The following may be offered: