On September 3, Council will receive a report outlining the risks, impacts and opportunities of 37 service levels they identified for possible change as part of the Budget 2025 process.
As one of several process changes for Budget 2025, Council has been engaged in a service level review and prioritization exercise through the summer. They reviewed The City’s 275 service levels and identified those they were interested in pursuing for possible change. A list of 37 budget change concepts was identified; these budget change concepts will be reviewed in greater detail on September 3 with the intent of Council providing direction to administration on what to include in the final tax supported budget submission in November.
“The notion of reviewing of 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.”
This work is necessary as we look at new ways and opportunities to balance the budget. We estimate $20 million is needed to balance the budget in 2025. 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.
"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'd 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 City Manager Tara Lodewyk. “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 the September 3 meeting (we expect the meeting to continue on September 4), The City will seek feedback from the community and provide a What we Heard report back to City Council to help guide their conversations and decisions during budget debate in November.
For more information about Budget 2025, please visit reddeer.ca/budget2025.