As part of the City of Red Deer’s Budget 2025 process, the city is completing a service level review and prioritization exercise.
From July 8 to July 30, Red Deer City Council was surveyed on each of the organization’s 275 service levels. The survey was intended to explore possible changes to service levels in the future to reduce expenses.
“We’re facing another challenging budget year, needing approximately $20 million to balance the budget,” said Mike Olesen, Growth and Finance General Manager. “While some of this can be achieved through property tax and utility user fees, we need to consider additional ways to reduce expenses to balance the budget.”
On Sept. 3, city administration will present city council with a full review and analysis of service levels. Council will then provide formal direction to administration on priorities to include in the budget recommendations in November.
In addition to the service level review and prioritization process, other changes have been made to the Budget 2025 process to make it clear and understandable:
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A budget charter was developed to guide administration and council through the budget process
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Earlier public engagement was conducted, with more planned for the fall
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Work is underway on a long-term business and financial systems plan, which will assess the city’s financial health and identify actions needed to secure a stronger financial future
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Capital and utility budgets will be debated on Oct. 1, with operating budget deliberations scheduled for Nov. 18 to Nov. 22