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. It 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 the Council’s long-term strategic goals.
The 2025 budget reflects an approved annual property tax rate increase of 1.66%. In the months since the budget passed, the County has realized higher than anticipated assessment and tax revenue and an expected operating surplus for 2024. As such, Council was provided with several options and supported a reduction to the originally planned 1.66% increase. With the County in a position to help address external pressures that are outside the County’s control (such as the significant increase in the province’s Education Property Tax, which the County collects on behalf of the Government of Alberta), Council opted to leave the municipal tax rate unchanged for 2025. Reducing the municipal property tax increase from 1.66% to 0% will help offset the increase residents will see in their tax bill due to the province’s increase to its portion of property taxes..
Budget 2025
Keeping Taxes Low
Despite major investments in better community services and infrastructure, Sturgeon County continues to have one of the most competitive municipal tax rates in the province. Since 2017, the County’s municipal tax rates increased a total of 5.36%, which is significantly less than consumer inflation over that time, at over 25%.
Key Priorities for Budget 2025
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.
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.
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 November, 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 accounts for the municipality’s day-to-day operations.
In April each year, the County’s Tax Rate Bylaw is approved, which includes the provincial requisitions for education and seniors housing. The final budget determines the tax revenue required 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 municipal tax dollars needed to fund these services, and this amount is used to set the municipal tax rate.
The county relies on property assessments, which assign each property a dollar value, to determine how much money is collected from each property owner.
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 about 40% of your residential 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 support services for seniors.
The provincial government determines the amount of money that needs to be collected. Requisitions typically make up about 40% of your property tax bill.
