At the Nov. 6 Council meeting, Town of Cochrane Administration presented Council with the 2024-2026 draft budget. This comprehensive draft budget reflects months of planning and consideration, as well as a commitment to both the core principles approved by Council and input provided by the community.
The draft budget was built upon the four approved principles of:
- Understanding and delivering on service-level expectations
- Fiscal responsibility
- Improved public interface
- Preparing for our intentional future
The Town’s news release states: “The draft budget responds to the challenges of the current economic climate, while ensuring the continuity of essential services and an investment in Cochrane’s capital infrastructure needs. To support this, Administration is recognizing a 3.45% increased revenue requirement, 3% of which is attributed to inflationary cost increases.”
The Town said this budget process reflects a larger community involvement than previous efforts.
In the spring, public engagement garnered input from community members.
”Administration crafted a budget that closely aligns with this feedback and the expressed desires of residents. Notably, Roads and Parks & Open Spaces have emerged as two primary focus areas in response to community priorities,” the release continues.
"This budget represents a holistic approach to our community's needs. We've listened to our residents and taken their feedback to heart. It is a budget that ensures we are prepared to meet the challenges of the future while delivering essential services to our residents,” says Mike Derricott, CAO, Town of Cochrane.
Administration's key priorities in this budget revolve around maintaining essential services, investing in capital infrastructure needs and continuing to invest in the staffing levels required to deliver on both of these priorities. The allocation for grant funding and reserve contributions will be maintained at 2023 levels, reaffirming the commitment to service quality.
The proposed budget will be deliberated by Council starting next week, and following these deliberations, the final municipal budget will be presented for approval during the December 11 regular meeting of Council. This process ensures that the budget ultimately reflects the collective goals and aspirations of the community it serves.
Cochranites are encouraged to review the draft budget and share their feedback. The full budget is posted on Cochrane.ca/budget. For more information and updates on the budget deliberation process, please visit Letstalkcochrane.ca/budget.
HIGHLIGHTS (Note: all of this information needs to be debated and approved by Council over the next few weeks):
A 3.45 per cent increase in residential property taxes in 2024, which means an annual increase of $89 for a home assessed at $561,200. Administration says inflation accounts for three per cent of the proposed increase.
A total annual increase of $213.48 for the average home assessment when utility rate changes are taken into account. The draft calls for a 12.4 per cent increase in the average annual water bill, and 13.3 per cent increase in the average sewer bill.
Residents with concerns or questions can contact town councillors and administration. The Let's Talk Cochrane portal will also remain open throughout budget deliberations to allow for further comments to inform or influence town councillors.
"Administration feels quite confident that we've prepared a budget that is ready for council's review and consideration," said Derricott. "Now it's council's turn to interact with that and we'll take as much time as council needs until they're prepared to make an appropriate decision."
Coun. Marni Fedeyko will be conducting her own public consultation on the budget.
Four days have been set aside for council to examine and fine-tune the budget starting on Nov. 14. Derricott says more days can be added if necessary. He doesn't rule out adopting an interim budget should deliberations extend beyond set timelines.
Administration hired a consultant to do a Budget Planning Survey in the spring, which combined a mail-in, phone survey and the Town’s online access. Postcards were delivered to every household. There were 448 replies.
Fifty-seven per cent of respondents said they received good, very good, or excellent value from municipal services and that the funding was worth it.
The top priorities listed by respondents were: 29 per cent – long-term sustainability; 23 per cent – would like to see the Town prioritize planning for future growth to prevent overcrowding; and 14 per cent – lower property taxes.
