Interim budget approved
Rocky View County (RVC) council approved an interim capital and operating budget at their Dec. 14 meeting. The budget, which will be in effect for January and February 2022, is capped at total operating expenditures of $20 million and capital expenditures of $49 million.
Council typically approves the operating and capital budget in December, according to RVC, and then debates new initiatives and unfunded projects before the budget’s finalization in April. In a website post, RVC stated the passing of an interim budget will give the newly elected council more time to more fully deliberate the overall budget in early 2022, before finalizing it in the spring.
Barry Woods, the County’s financial services officer, presented the interim budget to council. According to his report to staff, the interim budget provides RVC the formal authority to collect revenues and expend funds until Feb. 28, 2022, at which point council will have approved the County’s 2022 operating and capital budget.
“Fiscal responsibility is one of the strategic pillars of RVC’s strategic plan,” Woods said. “Compiling the 2022 operating and capital base budget is a major undertaking to ensure the efficient use of resources and effective service delivery.”
According to Woods, as council is currently reviewing RVC’s 2022 operating and capital base budgets, administration has prepared an interim budget to ensure basic service levels are maintained for county residents in the first two months of the new year.
“This budget is essentially to keep our lights on, our staff working, [and] our operations going,” Woods said, adding the interim capital budget doesn’t approve any new capital items.”
Council approved the interim budget unanimously.
Springbank land acquisition
After discussing the item in camera, council directed County staff to complete an offer to purchase for a parcel of land in Springbank for $2 million, waiving the conditions of the purchase agreement and that the budget adjustment be approved as presented.
The land in question is in the same quarter section as the Springbank Park For All Seasons.
Deputy Mayor Crystal Kissel and Coun. Samanntha Wright opposed the motion to complete the offer to purchase, Kissel saying there are “too many unanswered questions.”
“I think there’s too much unknown at this point in time, so I won’t be supporting the motion,” Wright added.
Other councillors supported the motion.
“There’s never certainty in decision-making, and you don’t always have all the information at hand and do the best with what you have,” Coun. Kevin Hanson said. “I believe this motion captures the spirit of that.”
Coun. Greg Boehlke added he felt the $2 million budget adjustment would be a good investment on behalf of the County.
“[It will] allow the opportunity to have the land available for expansion of recreation and culture endeavours in that area,” he said.
MDP work tabled
Council approved a staff recommendation to table further work on Rocky View County's Municipal Development Plan (MDP) at their Dec. 14 meeting, arguing they should wait for the provincial government's decision regarding the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board's (CMRB) Regional Growth Plan.
The CMRB's Regional Growth Plan was approved in May, despite opposition from the CMRB's three rural municipalities – RVC, Foothills County, and Wheatland County – for being too "urban-focused."
“As it stands, the draft Regional Growth Plan presents several challenges to the County's growth strategy, and conflicts with the current draft MDP, most notably in the new growth areas identified in the MDP," an RVC staff member said when presenting the item to council.
The MDP is the County’s principal statutory plan, according to the agenda report, and the document guides the growth of new and existing communities. RVC stated the MDP provides "a high-level policy framework for more detailed community-scale planning, together with policies directing how all development and supporting infrastructure within the County should be implemented."
The CMRB previously refused the County's MDP on July 23. According to RVC's report, this refusal was despite a recommendation for approval from CMRB administration, and a third-party review that found the MDP complied with the board's interim growth plan.
Council directed administration to present a report, no later than two months after the minister of municipal affairs' decision on the CMRB's plan, to assess the impacts of the decision.
Beiseker recreation agreement
Also on Dec. 14, RVC council approved continuing a five-year cost-sharing agreement with the Village of Beiseker, which will formalize the County’s ongoing financial commitment toward recreational amenities in the village.
According to the staff report included in the agenda package, the inter-municipal agreement – last signed in 2013 – will build on a strong foundation to support recreational and cultural facilities in Beiseker. The agreement includes a $20,000 yearly allocation from the County to support recreational services and programming in Beiseker.
“Although it expired in 2018, we have continued to have that collaboration,” said RVC staff, when presenting the item to council. “Working with administration from the Village of Beiseker, the development of the agreement was collaborative and essentially house-keeping.”
According to staff, the intent of the document and the funding allocation has not changed, and there is no budget implication.
Council approved the continuation of the agreement unanimously.
