Budget

The Budget determines the level of service provided to Sturgeon County residents and taxpayers, and guides decisions on County infrastructure.

Feedback from residents and businesses is an important part of the Budget process. The budget is about setting community goals and building the infrastructure vital to the County’s growth and prosperity.

Budget 2025

Budget 2025 supports a connected community. The Budget provides resourcing for core municipal program and service delivery, while facilitating important infrastructure for residents and driving new investment into Sturgeon County. The County constantly seeks to improve the quality of services while maintaining efficient operations. This involves careful prioritization of initiatives, continually seeking efficiencies, and aligning spending with Council’s long-term strategic goals.

The 2025 budget reflects an approved annual property tax rate increase of 1.66% in 2025. The increase is a result of identified pressures in the existing budget to maintain services, such as inflationary increases for materials and contracts, and personnel costs. In addition to higher costs for maintaining services, funding for operating and capital enhancements to grow existing services were also approved.

Keeping Taxes Low

Despite major investments in better community services and infrastructure, Sturgeon County continues to have one of the most competitive tax rates in the province. Over the past seven years, the County’s municipal tax rates increased a total of 4%, significantly less than other regional municipalities, some of which increased municipal taxes by over 20% during this time.

Key Priorities for Budget 2025

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Key infrastructure such as roads, bridges, fire and emergency equipment, and parks and trails are essential for thriving communities. The Budget includes investing in capital assets in 2025, which represents a significant increase over historical capital budget investment levels.

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The County continues to look for ways to attract business investment, which supports jobs, new funding for programs and services, and more broadly, the County’s long-term financial sustainability. The Budget includes new programs to support investment attraction and retention.

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You work hard for your money, and we want to make sure you’re getting good value for your tax dollars. Service costs rise each year, and Sturgeon County works hard to maintain a highly efficient operation and keep municipal property tax increases lower than comparable municipalities and lower than annual inflationary cost increases.

Making Sense of the Budget

Each December, Council approves an operating and capital budget. The County uses a multi-year capital budget plan to help guide forecasting and procurement needs. The operating budget is approved annually, and it accounts for the day-to-day operations of the municipality.

In April or May, the County’s tax rate bylaw is approved. It includes the provincial requisitions for education and seniors housing. The final budget, including these requisitions, determines the tax rates for the County.

When does Council approve the budget?

Council approves an operating and capital budget before the end of each year. The budget determines the level of services provided to residents and businesses, and guides decisions about infrastructure improvements. The final budget determines the proposed tax rates.

Council approves the tax rate bylaw in late spring, once assessment is finalized and the provincial requisition amounts for education and senior housing are known. At this time, an adjusted tax rate may be proposed.

What is an operating budget?

An operating budget plans for the costs of the day-to-day activities you rely on, such as fire services, snow removal, utilities, community services and agricultural programs. These services are mostly funded through tax dollars.

The operating budget also includes provincial requisitions collected on behalf of the Government of Alberta.

The operating budget is approved each year.

What is a capital budget?

A capital budget plans for major fixed assets, like vehicles, buildings, bridges and roads. The County has a three-year capital budget, so it can better plan for these larger expenses.

Sturgeon County passed its first multi-year capital budget for 2023 to 2025. The multi-year capital budget is reviewed annually. For 2024 and 2025, the capital budget was amended to include several key priority projects for the community.

How does the budget impact my taxes?

Taxes fund municipal services, like road maintenance, utilities, fire services, recreation, snow removal, and more. The final budget outlines the tax dollars needed to fund these services, and this amount is used to set the tax rate.

To determine how much money is collected from each property owner, the County relies on property assessment. Property assessment assigns a dollar value to each property.

Once the tax rate and assessed property value is set, we can calculate your taxes using the following formula:

Assessed property value X current tax rate = taxes due

It’s important to note that your tax bill includes funds the County must collect on behalf of the provincial government. These provincial requisitions account for roughly 40 per cent of your property tax bill.

Why does the County collect taxes for the province?

Sturgeon County must collect provincial requisitions on behalf of the Government of Alberta. These funds support the provincial education system, rural policing services, and the Heartland Housing Foundation which provides seniors support services.

The provincial government determines the amount of money that needs to be collected. Requisitions typically make up roughly 40 per cent of your property tax bill.

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