Red Deer City Council is considering service level changes ahead of the Budget 2025 process, during today’s (Sept. 3) council meeting.
Throughout the summer, city council has been engaged in a service level review and prioritization exercise.
They reviewed the city’s 275 service levels and identified which ones they are interested in possibly changing, 37 possible changes were identified.
“The notion of reviewing service levels in the interest of reducing expenses is not new to our budget process, we’ve simply moved it earlier in the process,” said Mike Olesen, General Manager of Growth and Finance. “In previous years, council would often bring forward these suggestions during the budget debate, but that didn’t leave enough time for the kind of rigorous analysis needed to make sound decisions. This new process gives administration time to hear from council early on and build solid analysis in advance of the budget debate.”
The city estimates that $20 million is needed to balance the 2025 budget.
Although property tax and utility user feeds can help, additional ways to reduce expenses to balance the budget need to be considered.
“We’re keeping everyone informed on the process as we move toward preparing the 2025 budget for council debate. We’re asking council members what changes they would like to see considered during that debate. This will allow us to provide more detailed information and gather input from the community to guide the decision-making process,” said Tara Lodewyk, City Manager. “Budgets continue to be a challenge for municipalities. While we are beginning to see growth, we are still recovering from years of economic challenges, reduced grants, use of reserves for operating expenses, and increasing costs. Our main focus is on balancing the needs of the community and the organization with the financial realities of the budget.”
Following today’s council meeting, the city will seek community feedback and present council with a report to guide their decisions during budget debates in November.