Jaret Dickie, manager of corporate planning and performance with the city, provides council a presentation on the 2026 budget during its first public meeting Monday night at city hall.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Addressing a gap in the budget and recognizing a need to manage city reserves were two topics emphasized by staff toward newly elected members and Mayor Linnsie Clark in council’s first public meeting since taking their oaths of office.
Jaret Dickie, manager of corporate planning and performance, provided council a presentation on how municipal budgeting works before addressing financial challenges in the 2026 budget.
Dickie framed the presentation to provide council an “eyes wide open” perspective in spreading limitations and what the long-term financial picture looks like for Medicine Hat, as by law, municipalities have to operate indefinitely and must plan to do so.
“So it’s not like we can operate for five years and then we don’t have any money left and walk away,” explained Dickie. “This is something that we need to ensure sustainability so that in four or five years, we don’t have to increase property taxes by 15 or 20 per cent to maintain our current service levels.”
The key takeaways from the introduction presentation were to introduce councillors to the difference between an operating budget and capital projects, stages in drafting a budget with feedback from council and the four unique roles and financial structures in business areas due to the city’s energy production and land development.
To maintain current service levels moving forward, staff are proposing council keep the annual property tax rate hike at 5.6 per cent in 2026, meaning the median single-family dwelling with incur a monthly increase of $10.53 in 2026, compared to $9.97 in 2025.
The city is also looking to pay off its approximately $9-million municipal budget gap by 2028 by budgeting $5.1 million in 2026.
“Closing the gap is our first step toward stabilizing the city’s finances and protecting the financial reserves,” said Dickie, who cited an estimate in which Medicine Hat could reach its debt limit of 70 per cent relative to total revenues in six to seven years, highlighting razor thin margins for large capital projects.
“Based on our current forecast we could reach 69 per cent by 2032 before factoring in major projects, such as the Southside Rec Centre or future energy transition work,” said Dickie. “That means our borrowing room is shrinking, and relying too heavily on debt will increase pressure on reserves since debt obligations will impact the city’s annual cash payments.”
Staff plan to present council a balanced and affordable budget that includes investments to infrastructure and to the long-term financial health of Medicine Hat, he said.
“It’s about continuing to deliver excellent services today while building a sustainable future that aligns with the council’s strategic priorities,” said Dickie.
Important funding decisions are now in front of newly elected councillors, which include major capital projects and energy projects like Saamis Solar, a new recreation and aquatic centre, a new Stampede grandstand, as well as a handful of other expenses and financial obligations like arena lands, electric renewal and airport runway replacement.
Some other costs include higher inflation levels, which were expected, and a $4.1-million cut to municipal capital requests.
Councillors were also told about new cost-saving strategies implemented by city staff to reduce the 2026 budget by $2 million.
“Before asking residents for more, we needed to do everything possible inside the organization to control costs and protect affordability,” said Dickie, who added that “existing staff positions were reallocated to priority areas rather than adding new positions, and a contribution from the endowment fund was incorporated to help balance the budget.”
Councillors will begin budget deliberations at its next regular public meeting scheduled Nov. 17 at 4 p.m., and again during its public meeting on Dec. 8, which was originally scheduled on Dec. 1.
