Spruce Grove budget deliberations now underway

SPRUCE GROVE -- Spruce Grove's proposed 2026 Budget was tabled for deliberations at last night's Council meeting.

Next year's municipal operating budget projects $ 101.4 million in revenue and has a $64.4 million tax requirement. The proposed budget contains a general tax increase of 2.9 per cent, a 0.67 per cent increase dedicated to the hiring of additional RCMP officers and a 1.0 per cent tax allocated to fund asset lifecycle costs.

"The total expenses for the department in the proposed 2026 budget are approximately $1.7 million down from $1.9 million in 2025, and there is a net change of about $325,000 contracted in general services. This is due to a recent procurement for risk and insurance management services," said Tania Shepherd, Director of Business Advisory Services while giving an overview of programs and services. The City of Spruce Grove's proposed 2026 Utility Operating Budget is $37.2 million.

The 2026 Utility Capital Budget of $8.7 million includes five capital projects that address community growth and twelve capital projects, focusing on repairing, maintaining and/or replacing existing utility infrastructure.

The 2026 Developer Capital Budget of $7.1 million includes the year two $5.7 million budget of a multi-year project. It was approved in the 2025 Corporate Plan.