Red Deerians, this is your chance to influence how The City’s budget is shaped. From roads and parks to infrastructure to recreation, we want to know what’s important to citizens.
Citizens will have various opportunities to participate meaningfully in this year’s budget process. Starting today, a survey and other participatory budget tools are available at engage.reddeer.ca. Listed on the site are also informal in-person opportunities to provide feedback. What we hear through these engagement opportunities will help influence budget decisions made by both administration and Council through the budget process.
“With another challenging budget year ahead of us, it’s more important than ever that we hear from the community to understand what is important to citizens,” said Mike Olesen, General Manager of Growth and Finance. “Through our engagement, we hope to gain a better understanding of the municipal services that Red Deerians value most and how we can make sustainable funding decisions for these services.”
Much like last year, The City continues to face financial pressures in 2025, with increasing costs and demand for high levels of services, combined with challenges of affordability. Last year, Council approved a 6.15 per cent tax increase as part of the 2024 budget process, which resulted in an increase of $9.3 million in tax revenues. However, close to $16 million was needed to balance to the budget, so the remaining funds were taken from reserves, leaving our reserve funds under significant pressure.
“This year, our priority is to continue our focus on recovering our reserve balances while also balancing the current operating budget,” said Olesen. “To mitigate the impact to utility fees and property taxes, we are looking at ways we can reduce expenses, which may include changes to our services.”
For more information about Budget 2025, visit reddeer.ca/Budget2025.