2021 Budget & Tax Rate – Council passed the 2021 Budget with no increase to the municipal portion of the mill rate. The $133.5 million budget includes the county’s operations costs ($45.5 million) and capital project costs ($30.2 million), contributions to county reserves ($3.4 million), and Yellowhead County’s revenue-sharing and cost-sharing contributions to local governments ($8.9 million). The budget also includes the Seniors Requisition ($4.25 million) and the School Requisition ($24.3 million).

A PDF 2021 Final Budget Summary is available here.

Municipal Campground Fees – Council approved an increase to overnight campground fees for Yellowhead County municipal campgrounds. The new fee is $20 per night per site (previously $15-$17/night). The new fees will be implemented for the 2021 camping season.

Proposed Municipal Parks Bylaw Update – Changes to the Municipal Parks Bylaw for rules regarding cannabis consumption at municipal parks and campgrounds in Yellowhead County were brought forward to Council. The proposed changes also reflect the closure of Riverside Park Campground. The bylaw will be brought back to Council for a final vote at a future date.

RD to CR Bylaw Amendment – A bylaw amendment was adopted by Council that will change a property northeast of Edson from a Rural District (RD) to a Country Residential (CR) district. The redistricting of this property will allow the property owner to apply for the property to be further subdivided to allow for an additional lot on the property.

Property Tax Agreements – A new bylaw has been passed that allows for a penalty to be imposed on non-residential property tax agreements. This bylaw allows Council to impose a reduced penalty of 3% on any non-residential property tax agreement. Non-residential property tax agreements are not granted automatically and each company wishing to enter into an agreement will be required to submit a formal request and a decision will be made by Council on a case-by-case basis.

2020 Audited Financial Statement – Council received a presentation from the auditors for the 2020 Audited Financial Statement. The statement will be available on the County website and printed copies will be available for review at the Yellowhead County Administration buildings in Edson and Wildwood.

The next regular Council Meeting is April 27, 2021 at 9:30 AM.

The next Governance and Priorities meeting is April 20, 2021 at 9:30 AM.