Jasper council delays budget approval, eyes 4.9% tax increase

Police and park rangers wait for residents at the park gates on the first day residents are able to visit their Jasper properties after having to evacuate because of the wildfires, on Friday, August 16, 2024. (Amber Bracken)

Jasper council is considering a 4.9-per-cent tax increase made possible by reconfiguring the credits to the financial stabilization reserve.

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The final approval of the 2024 budget was delayed until the last meeting of the year so administration could work on the change. It also gives the municipality more time to hear from the Alberta government about recovery and stabilization funding.

"I would rather have the certainty that we're moving forward with as many known facts as we can have, rather than succumb to passing what we may think is a conditional budget, but there's nothing really that says it's conditional on anything," said Mayor Richard Ireland at the Tuesday council meeting.

Jasper council has been struggling with a budget heavily reliant on recovery funding following a summer wildfire that destroyed nearly a third of the townsite and resulted in a loss of $300 million in assessed value.

The municipality has been asking the provincial government to provide funding to help offset an anticipated $9.3 million in lost revenue between 2025 and 2027. No funding has yet been confirmed, and any tax relief would be dependent on such funding.

While Jasper is currently approved for $73.5 million under its application to the provincial Disaster Recovery Program (DRP), the municipality is required to cover 10 per cent of the cost.

For 2024-25, the municipal contribution is pegged at $4.3 million, which would be equal to a 36.5-per-cent increase in 2025 on top of the 4.9-per-cent increase currently being proposed. Council has been pushing the Alberta government to waive this funding requirement.

Paul Butler, executive director of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, told council the initially proposed six-per-cent increase in taxes and 15-per-cent increase in utilities was "unsupportable" at a time when the municipality needed to reduce spending.

"In fact, we're not seeing the expense reduction that our members feel we need to see," Butler said.

He noted council should look specifically at the transit program and the growth in human resources. He was also concerned about the looming costs of transferring land-use authority from Parks Canada to the municipality.

The chamber was supportive when it came to council's advocacy efforts to get out of paying the DRP contribution.

"Frankly, it just doesn't seem reasonable, doesn't seem fair," Butler said. "It can make an already dire situation immeasurably worse, and I know there are conversations in that regard going on, and we support you in those advocacy efforts."

Council also added four recovery positions and removed two new operations positions.

The recovery positions include three outreach workers and one child-care worker, which are each a one-year term and covered by existing DPR contingency funding.

Although council previously approved two recovery outreach workers to assist the existing team, Community Outreach Services has continued to see a massive increase in new clients.

Pre-wildfire, outreach workers saw roughly 125 clients per month including eight new clients, but in October, they saw almost 200 unique clients, including 112 new clients.

With more than 800 visits total, including repeat visits, eight outreach workers are each handling 100 visits a month, roughly 25 hours per week, leaving less time to provide programming.

"Carrying 25 client meetings a week is burdensome, and so we are seeing some time taken off, requests for time taken off and reasonable signs that our team needs support," said Christopher Read, director of community development.

Read added the number of kids at the child-care centre has been rising by the month, requiring an additional worker to prevent attrition and burnout.

Coun. Wendy Hall moved to add the four recovery positions, noting staff and residents would need this support in the coming years.

"I feel residents are starting to struggle more," Hall said. "As the shock of the disaster wears off, we're facing the realities of recovery, which is complex, and the realities of rebuilding, which is daunting, especially coming into a really challenging time for mental health."

Council voted 5-1 to add the positions. Coun. Scott Wilson was opposed, and Coun. Kathleen Waxer was not in attendance.

The two full-time operations positions removed were a maintenance worker to support the Activity Centre and Jasper Arena as well as a project coordinator to work with contractors.

Coun. Scott Wilson said next year should be a time of austerity.

"Yes, there will be more work on the shoulders of the existing people, and if the challenges are so large that we have to contract some services midstream, I would support that," Wilson said. "But at this point, I don't support hiring any new positions with all of the unknowns in front of us."

Coun. Ralph Melnyk argued the coordinator position would be essential during the rebuild, resulting in greater efficiencies and possibly cost savings.

The motion to remove these two positions passed 4-2, with Melnyk and Coun. Rico Damota opposed.