(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Budget Talks

P.A. council officially approves 2022 budget, talks on tax increases happening next month

Feb 16, 2022 | 9:19 AM

The city of Prince Albert’s 2022 budget has been approved nearly three months since talks first started.

Council met on Tuesday where they gave the green light to increase the budget by around $1.8 million when compared to the previous two years. It’s now sitting at roughly $73 million.

The only one to vote against was Councillor Terra Lennox-Zepp who stated she wanted to see more projects included in this year’s budget.

Originally, city administration recommended raising the yearly budget by around $4.4 million, however, council ended up cancelling or postponing around $2.6 million worth of items.

The next step is figuring out how to pay for the increase.

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Mayor Greg Dionne told paNOW this will come through taxes with talks to figure out how much residents will need to contribute slated to happen next month.

“The main thing (administration) has to do is go through all our motions and make sure everything is incorporated, make sure they haven’t missed anything.”

Council also approved a last-second project which will be incorporated into the 2022 budget.

Crescent Heights is set to get a new spray park with the city covering over $120,000 of the costs, while the remaining $230,000 needed is being provided by Malcolm Jenkins.

“Eight years ago, we had nothing but paddling pools and they’re not acceptable anymore because of what young kids do in the water,” added Dionne.

He noted the city’s last padding pool, located at the Hazeldell Community Club, is expected to be replaced next year with the funding to come out of the 2023 city budget.

Meanwhile, council also approved plans to repay around $40 million for five projects.

They agreed to cover the costs for the Aquatic and Arenas Recreation Centre, Raw Water Pump House, Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrades over the next 35 years, the Marquis Road West Extension in the next 25 years, and the new cell at the city’s landfill in 10 years.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow