2024 Budget

About the Budget

Creating the County’s annual budget is a process that takes several months and input from all departments before being approved by Council.

Every municipality in Alberta must create a budget each year, but there cannot be a planned surplus or deficit.This makes budgeting a delicate balance as projects and initiatives must be prioritized based on limited resources. Added challenges include inflation, increased demand for higher service levels, downloading of costs from other levels of government, increasing utility prices, and reductions in grant funding. The County must decide what projects to take on while keeping tax rates and user fees reasonable.

The budget is split into an operating and a capital budget, which determine what projects will be done throughout the year based on the needs of the County and funds available.

Operating Budget

This budget includes our everyday operations, like:

• Road maintenance (grading, mowing, snow plowing, reconditioning, etc.)
• Agricultural education and workshops for producers
• Sidewalks, sewer, and water systems in hamlets
• Water and wastewater testing and utility management
• Fire protection through contracts with local departments
• Bylaw enforcement
• Park and playground maintenance in hamlets and subdivisions
• Garbage collection in hamlets
• Planning and development services
• Administration of County operations (management of projects, grant applications, accounting, customer service, GIS mapping, etc.)

The operating budget also includes costs that the County is required to contribute to other organizations or levels of government, such as:

• Recreation in neighbouring municipalities
• Provincial policing costs
• Community associations within the County
• Family and Community Support Services (FCSS)
• Lethbridge Regional Waste Management Services Commission for transfer stations and recycling
• Chinook Arch Regional Library

Operations are funded through several sources:

• Property taxes
• Grants
• User fees
• Service agreements
• Fines/penalties
• Transfers from reserves
• Return on investments

Capital Budget

This budget includes:

• Road and bridge replacement
• Large paving projects
• Vehicle and equipment purchases
• Playground replacement

Capital projects are funded through:

• Grants
• Transfers from reserves
• Proceeds on disposal of retired equipment
• Debentures

Capital projects are not funded with property taxes.

2024 Budget Process

The budget process involves making many decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars responsibly and efficiently. View the menu on this page for a schedule of budget peesentation and review dates. These meetings will be live-streamed and recorded for the public at https://lethcounty.ca/p/council-meetings.