Stirling passes interim operating budget and other briefs

By Nikkie Jamieson
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The following are selected briefs from the Dec. 1 Stirling village council meeting;

2022 Interim Operating Budget:

Council had approved the Interim Operating Budget for 2022. According to the Municipal Government Act, municipalities are required to pass interim budgets for 2022 by the end of the year. Village CAO Scott Donselaar said that “not the final budget, but a proposed one based upon a number of factors”, and a finalized budget will be approved once the village has received the necessary requisition amounts for the province poor to passing the Tax Rate Bylaw next year.
Village Mayor Trevor Lewington said that council has “approved an operating budget that for now holds our mill rate flat with no rate increase, pending final budget in the spring.”
The 2022 Interim Capital Budget will be presented to council during their regular Dec. 15 meeting.

Bylaw 519-21: The Fees, Rates and Charges Bylaw:

Council has performed first reading of the Fees, Rates and Charges Bylaw for 2022.
The bylaw, sets the fees rates and charges that the village has set for 2022. A new charge for lamination has been added to the bylaw compared to in the 2021 version of the bylaw.
During the meeting, council had discussed if any changes need to occur, based of whether the Water Services Commission were to change the water rates.
Lewington said that the village would be holding the fees and rats at 2021 levels with no increases “because we know our residents face increases in so many other areas of their life”.

Pool Boiler:

Council had approved the purchase of new boilers for the community pool and directed administration to proceed with their replacement.
Donselaar said that the pool boilers need to be replaced and the village had an opportunity to acquire the boilers they needed, before a likely price increase takes place in early December. The current boilers have reached the end of their life and are no longer serviceable, and would need to be replaced if the village were to have a 2022 pool season.

2021 Capital Budget Update:

Council received an update in regards to the 2021 Capital Budget.
Donselaar said that the village is “on track” to have a surplus rollover from this year’s capital budget. The surplus dollars can be applied to the 2022 Capital Budget.

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