TAMRMS#: B06
6.1
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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CAO Presentation of the Proposed Financial Plan and 2026 Budget
Presented by: William Fletcher, Chief Administrator Officer
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
That the proposed City of St. Albert Financial Plan and 2026 Budget be referred to the Committee of the Whole.
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SUMMARY
This report presents the Proposed Financial Plan and 2026 Budget for Council’s review, deliberation, and consideration of approval.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
Sections 242 and 245 of the Municipal Government Act provide that a Council must adopt both an operating budget and a capital budget for each calendar year.
Section 283.1(2) also requires a municipality to prepare a written plan respecting its anticipated financial operations over a period of at least the next 3 financial years.
Section 283.1(3) requires a municipality to prepare a written plan respecting its anticipated capital property additions over a period of at least the next 5 financial years.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires a Council to adopt operating and capital budgets each year. The City’s business planning and budget process is a comprehensive undertaking guided by the Community Vision, Council’s Strategic Plan and approved Services and Service Levels Inventory, to help ensure the plan and budget reflect the needs and priorities of the community.
The proposed 2026 Budget is informed by Council-approved services and service levels, Council’s Strategic Plan, the Corporate Business Plan and community feedback. As a fiscally responsible municipality, we continue to focus on operational improvements, managing resources and corporate risks effectively while balancing increased costs and required investments for a sustainable future.
As we evolve, and our urban footprint expands, we are looking to stimulate economic growth by creating more employment and business opportunities for our community and region. We are focusing on establishing connectivity between existing and developing neighbourhoods and addressing needs for housing and social programming. We are also advancing our ability to respond to the unexpected with ongoing emergency preparedness planning and training to support our community, employees and surrounding municipalities. We continue to build a strong organizational foundation to support and enable efficient and effective delivery of services to the community.
Some key highlights of this year’s budget include:
• Advancing Council’s priorities, developing Lakeview Business District, enabling more mixed housing developments and creating seven new initiatives through the Housing Accelerator Fund grant program.
• Implementing transportation improvements to address operations and safety along Boudreau Road and Campbell Road intersection.
• Using technology to modernize our systems for asset management, providing a single platform to house all City assets to better inform future decisions regarding infrastructure maintenance.
The Proposed Financial Plan and 2026 Municipal Budget document presents a municipal operating budget of $226.1 million, with a $151.9 million tax levy and an overall average municipal property tax increase of 3.9 per cent.
The proposed 2026 operating budget includes 16 new operating budget requests with no impact on taxes. Funded through reserves and new growth in the community in 2025, these requests address the needs in some of the key service areas, maintain service delivery, and support projects that advance Council’s priority areas.
The proposed Municipal Capital Budget of $45.7 million includes 27 capital charters (requests for funding) focusing on repairing, maintaining and/or replacing existing municipal infrastructure, and eight capital charters that address community growth.
The proposed Utility Operating Budget is $60.0 million. The proposed monthly utility bill will yield an average blended increase of 7.9 per cent or a change of $12.98 per month compared to last year.
The proposed Utility Capital Budget of $18.5 million includes nine capital projects, focusing on repairing, maintaining and/or replacing existing utility infrastructure.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
After this presentation, the 2026 Proposed Budget will be available on the City Website www.budget.stalbert.ca.
From November 4 through 14 a Cultivate the Conversation site will gather resident input on the proposed budget and service provision. Findings will be shared with Council via slot memo to help inform budget deliberations.
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
Consistent with Council Policy C-FS-05 Budget and Taxation Guiding Principles using the Services and Service Levels Inventory as a basis, the operating budget is developed on the principle of maintaining the current programs and services and associated service levels.
The 2026 RMR (Repair, Maintain, Replace) budget was reviewed and approved by Council in June 2025. RMR capital charters support the maintenance of service levels. Capital projects relating to growth are reviewed during the budget deliberations.
Compliance & Legal:
The MGA requires that Council adopt annual operating and capital budgets. The City follows Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAB).
Program or Service:
The proposed Financial Plan and 2026 Budget form the basis of the City’s financial operations. The budgets support maintaining services and service levels, growth, strategic initiatives and investments based on the current Corporate Business Plan and the Services and Service Levels Inventory.
Organizational:
The proposed budget includes several business cases that will provide the required resources to address capacity in some of the key service areas. These resources will help ensure that Council-approved services and service levels can be maintained.
Risks
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
Not applicable
ALIGNMENT TO SERVICE DELIVERY
Capital and Operating Budgeting - Stewardship of development of annual Capital and Operating Budgets for Municipal and Utility operations - Municipal/Utility Operating Budget Development and Multi-Year Operating Budget Submissions.
Business and Financial Analysis - Service Prioritization and Analysis - Provision of services to assist in prioritizing and analyzing services for decision-making.
Strategic and Business Planning - Corporate Alignment and Planning - The City plans according to the City of St. Albert Strategic Framework Policy to align the City's short, medium and long-term operational efforts to the Community Vision and Pillars of sustainability, and the City of St. Albert Council Strategic Plan. This includes the use of the Services and Service Levels Inventory as a basis for the development of the proposed budget to maintain Council-approved services and service levels.
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
N/A
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Report Date: November 4, 2025
Author(s): Suzanne Findlay, Manager, Financial Services and Darija Slokar, Manager, Strategic Services
Department: Financial & Strategic Services
Department Director: Anne Victoor
Managing Director: Diane McMordie
Chief Administrative Officer: Bill Fletcher