The 2025 Budget process wrapped up for Olds council at this week’s meeting.
Sheena Linderman, the Town’s Director of Corporate Services, says this year’s process was really good as they had two half days with council – one for the operating budget and one for the capital budget – and a third meeting was held for council to finalize any projects they wanted included in the budgets.
She notes the operating budget is a balanced budget of nearly $36 million dollars. Linderman says “the operating budget is up about 1.3 per cent due to inflation and 2.1 per cent was new projects being added for this year. Those include things such as the addition of a community peace officer, a land use bylaw update, and some infrastructure renewal items such as sidewalk repairs and maintenance, and trails repairs and maintenance increases.”
The 2025 capital budget continues to place a strong emphasis on infrastructure renewal in the Town of Olds and it comes in at just under $5 and a half million, according to Linderman. She says “the primary focus, again, of the capital budget is our water loss and inflow and infiltration strategy. This will be year three of three for this program. We are focusing $1.8 million on this strategy which will focus mainly on CCTB inspection. so that is camera-ing of all of our sanitary lines and relining of both the man hole and sanitary lines.”
She explains what residents can expect from the Town’s utility rates. Linderman says “residents will also see increases in their utility rates. There will be increases in both the water and wastewater base rates and the introduction of a new fee that will help fund our water meter replacement program. However, our solid waste fees will be decreasing in 2025. So the average residential property will see an approximate increase of about $2 per month in their utility rates.”
To support the 2025 budgets, Linderman notes that administration is recommending to Olds council that it target a tax revenue increase of 5 per cent. Preliminary indications are this could look on a monthly basis like a $9 dollar increase for the average residential ratepayer. Further information about will be released in April of 2025.
