NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
City Councillor Andy McGrogan contemplates documents that accompanied a 2023-24 budget presentation at council's Nov. 21 meeting. Final presentations and the start of the debate on the incoming business is scheduled to take place Monday.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
One month after the new city budget was presented to council – and two information sessions where members quizzed managers about new spending and new hiring – the proposal moves to debate Monday night.
The new process needs to see the budget passed before Jan. 1, with councillors promising amendments potentially over two meetings this month. A key focus thus far has been the request by budget authors to add 27 positions across five divisions.
They could add $2.5 million in new salaries, while another $2.5 million is forecast as wage inflation as the city works on a new collective bargaining agreement with more than 1,000 workers.
The largest increase in the workforce comes in the city’s human resources department, where seven new positions and programming is targeted to reverse low morale and bring top job candidates to the civic workforce.
“Out of financial prudence in 2021, we significantly reduced headcount in several areas, including human resources, with the acknowledged plan to reinvest,” said corporate services division head Dennis Egert. “To be clear, we are not backfilling what we previously had, but identifying areas that we need to be successful in the future.”
Over the same meetings, Coun. Shila Sharps and others made it clear new positions would have to be justified, and Mayor Linnsie Clark called for a detailed analysis on how all new additions related to council’s strategic plan, passed last spring.
“Going though every position and explaining it, really takes (questions about what it is and why you need it,” Sharps said as she thanked police officials for their presentation on Nov. 21.
Specific to human resources, new positions include a health and safety manager, two officers to work directly with workers, two organizational analysts and two administrative support workers. At the same meeting, city HR director Stan Schwartzenberger told council that morale was exceptionally low throughout the municipal workforce and the new program would improve retention as well as help attract strong candidates.
Health related absences, for example, cost the city $3.2 million in 2021, but the number is forecast to the end of 2022 to be $6.2 million and grow in years out. A presentation at committee last week laid out how the changes, overlapping with the corporate communications office, would operate.
Overall, the budget calls for property tax increases of about 4 per cent in each of the next two years while the city will draw more reserve income to balance the budget. Eventually, more tax revenue and an increase in specific utility fees that flow directly to municipal coffers (the Municipal Consent and Access Fee) will help eliminate by 2026 a structural deficit caused when gas dividends dried up.
Among the other additions, new staff in the parks department will provide cost analysis and seek out efficies.
Four new positions in the utility department are needed to staff the new water treatment facility that is currently under construction. Eight new firefighters would address high overtime costs required to make up for sick time and training days, and bring the city up to national staffing standards, said fire service officials.
The Medicine Hat Police Service, which creates its own budget, is asking that three new full-time and five part-time positions be funded. That translates to two officers, one inspector, a part-time chaplain, another property clerk, an in house lawyer to replace contracted service and pay portions of salaries for shared crime analysts and information manager in the provincial ALERT crime unit.
The entire police budget would rise by $920,000 in 2023, then $790,000 in 2024 to reach about $23.5 million at that time, about the same amount it was in 2020. The service’s total capital and major operating request request is $400,000 in computer service updates and $70,000 to replace tazers, though fleet replacements are charged differently.
“After this we shouldn’t require any server upgrades until 2028,” said acting police chief Al Murphy at the Nov. 21 council meeting.
Capital budget highlights
The capital budget proposes a total of $87.5 million worth of projects, of which $33 million in financing would be required.
Among major road projects, a $6.5-million upgrade for Division Avenue S. is proposed in 2024, the same year long-promised upgrades on Third Street downtown would see $1 million allocated.
Among few new facilities, $540,000 would be dedicated to add a public washroom at the Towne Square facility. About $1.8 million would be spent on the city’s computer system and cyber security program.
In parks, a total of $7.5 million would be spent on irrigation upgrades over two years, $1.84 million on trailway improvements and $1.4 million life-cycle replacements at Hill Pool.
The ongoing infrastructure maintenance and replacement program from the municipal operations would see about $5 million each year spent on roadway, $1 million on bridges and $3.5 million on storm sewers.
Sanitary sewer and water lines are covered in the rate-supported utility budgets, and therefore don’t affect tax rates. Fleet spending to replace vehicles would total $19.6 million for the two-year period, paid for out of reserves built up by transfers from department operating budgets related to their vehicle and equipment requirements.
