Okotoks residents are invited to have a front-row seat during this year’s budget deliberations. The Town’s annual budget meetings are Nov. 20, 21 and 22 in council chambers. New this year, the meetings will all be live-streamed so members of the public who cannot make it in-person can still watch the proceedings. Links to the recordings will also be available at the end of each day. Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent said the 2019 budget is entitled “Investing in Quality of Place.” “It means the Town has a strong foundation but we need to make investments to make it higher quality,” said Vincent. To meet that goal, she said this budget will have non-traditional investments recommended by Town staff, like putting funds toward local transit and the takeover of the Foothills Centennial Centre, as well as affordable housing. She said administration worked within council’s budget guidelines, which indicated a tax increase of three per cent. “Our budget is coming in at 2.5 per cent,” said Vincent. “For a typical homeowner, that means an increase of $4.76 per month.” The proposed operating budget for 2019 is at about $59 million while the capital budget sits at $21 million, she said. Capital expenses this year include close to $7 million for wastewater treatment plant upgrades, a $3.25 million investment in affordable housing projects and $3.11 million for local transit, she said. “All of these priorities were decided from council’s strategic plan,” said Vincent. The final decision on the 2019 budget will be made at council’s Dec. 10 meeting, she said. To stream the budget meetings, go to www.okotoks.ca. The meetings begin at 8:45 a.m. each day.
