2021 Budget Presentation Dec PPT V1.pdf

2021 Budget Presentation 2
Table of Contents
Covid‐19 Impact 3
Town Vision & Mission Statement 4
Strategic Plan 5
Long Range Plan 9
Organizational Chart 11
Corporate Values 12
Your Municipal Budget 13
The Budget Process 14
Long‐Term Financial Health Framework 16
Budget Public Participation 18
Budget Phase 1 19
Budget Phase 2 24
Priority Based Budgeting 44
Budget Guideline Highlights 55
Budget Guideline Considerations ‐ Uncertainties 58
Budget Guideline Considerations ‐ Franchise Fees & Grants 59
Risk Management 60
Growth Assumptions 61
Capital Budget 2021 62
10‐Year Capital Plan – Strategic Direction 63
Capital Plan Sanitary System Projects 64
Asset Management – Property Tax assets 65
Revenues & Expenditures – Budget 5‐Year Forecast 66
Table of Contents
2019 Tangible Capital Asset Report 67
Funding Specific to 2021 Capital Projects 68
Financial Strategy Specific to 2021 Capital Projects 69
2021 Grant Funding Including Carry Forward and Pre‐Approved 70
Capital Budget Realities 71
Budget 2021 Funding Graphs 72
Forecasting 2022‐2030 Funding Graphs 73
Impact of Capital on Operating Budget 77
Operating Budget: 2021 Budget with Forecast 2021‐2025 78
Operating Budget: Revenue & Expense Summary 2021 ($M) 79
Operating Budget: Total Revenue by Category 80
Operating Budget: Total Expenditures by Category 83
Operating Budget: Total Expenditure by Division 86
Operating Budget Highlights – Proposed Tax Increase 88
Revenues & Expenditures – Budget 5 Year Forecast 89
Operating Budget Highlights – Rates & Fees increases 90
Cost Saving Adjustments – Survey Items Implemented 91
Historical Vacancy Factor 94
Rates & Fees for 2021 95
External Request for Funding 96
2021 Staffing 97
Budget Detail by Divisions 98
Town of Okotoks by the Numbers 99
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Protective Services 100
Infrastructure & Operations 105
Community Services 110
Corporate & Strategic Services 118
Development Services 123
Finance & Systems 129
Utilities 134
Economic Conditions Calgary & Region Economic Outlook 140
Canadian Tax Payers Association Municipal Spending Report 141
Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) 143
Questions 144

2021 Budget Presentation
COVID‐19 Update and Impact to 2021 Budget
3
• Every municipality in Canada is struggling with the same challenges:
o facilities re‐opened under new restrictions
o programs and events cancelled and uncertainty about when the
situation will improve.
• The global pandemic’s economic impact is affecting every community
and all taxpayers in Canada.
• The 2021 budget forecast has been designed to mitigate those impacts
for Okotoks’ residents while creating a framework so the Town can
adjust quickly when things change.
• A set of guiding principles was used to determine the priorities,
including continuing with existing budgeted projects that were already
started, using non‐tax related funding, and/or leveraging additional
investments.
• Through these 2021 budget amendments the Town has ensured that
Okotoks has been well‐positioned to navigate through this
unprecedented time.

• Council developed the 2018-
2021 Strategic Plan: growing up
from strong roots, and approved
it in May 2018.
• It determines the strategic
direction for Okotoks over the
next four years and the key result
areas required to achieve them.

• Manage Community Growth
• Foster Economic Vitality
• Provide Quality Community
Infrastructure
• Promote Environmental
Excellence
• Provide Strong Governance
• Maintain a Healthy and
Safe Community
• Enhance Organizational
Excellence

Manage Community Growth
Foster Economic Vitality
Provide Quality Community
Infrastructure
Promote Environmental
Excellence
Provide Strong Governance
Maintain a Healthy and
Safe Community
Enhance Organizational
Excellence
Progress Reports
• Town administration monitors progress towards meeting the strategic goals, key result areas and
initiatives, and provides regular reports to Council throughout the year, which are available to the
public on the Town website.
• The Annual Report is another way that progress is reported to citizens. Reporting provides greater
accountability, transparency and understanding of both the strategic goals, progress and
accomplishments.
• Council and administration’s regular review allows us to evaluate how the Town is performing
towards the strategic goals and to make adjustments as necessary to realign for success.

• Long‐range plans and other policy documents, including area
structure plans for different neighbourhoods and various
overarching regional strategies, support the community in achieving
its economic, community and environmental sustainability
objectives.
• Public participation plays a key role in creating each plan, ensuring
that the community’s priorities and vision for Okotoks are captured
and reflected.
• The Town encourages resident engagement and welcomes the
opportunity to obtain the public’s input.
• The following long‐range community planning documents and tools
establish a foundation to guide the community’s future over the
next 20 years.
Long Range Plans
9

Long Range
Plans
10

Your Municipal Budget
13
• The municipal operating budget is developed and approved annually to
finance the delivery of programs and services to the community according
to Council approved service levels.
• The corporate budget is the fiscal plan that supports the initiatives that will
achieve the community vision and Council priorities.
• Each year Council also reviews and adjusts the 10‐year Capital Plan, which
sets the priorities for major capital projects and determines the level of
reserves the Town needs to save to fund future capital initiatives.
• Town Council’s strategic direction and priorities establish the guidelines for
the initial steps in preparing the annual operating and capital budgets.
• In developing the budget, the Town also follows approved financial
policies, which ensures a consistent approach and adoption across the
Town’s business centres, while aligning with Council’s fiscal direction.
• The budget is established with a strong understanding of its impacts on
future years and the ability to fund future projects and initiatives.

• The budget process begins each spring with the Town
identifying budget priorities, and it is finalized when
Council approves the budget in December.
• The portion of funding that comes from property taxes is
used to build the community and is treated with care,
prudence and respect.
• Each budget cycle, residents have opportunities to
provide feedback and comments during the budget
process.
The Town of Okotoks’ revenue comes from a variety of
sources:
• Property Taxes ‐ paid by residents and businesses to help cover the
costs of the municipal services they use.
• Sales & User fees ‐ including utility charges, franchise fees, fines,
permits and facility rentals.
• Government Transfers ‐ funds received from the provincial and federal
governments, as well as neighbouring municipalities. The Town is also
required to collect requisitions on behalf of the Province of Alberta for
education, the Westwinds Foundation for local senior housing and the
Okotoks Library. The Town does not set or control these levies and
passes this revenue directly onto the province and others.

• The 2018‐2021 Strategic Plan has identified and prioritized strategic
goals to help facilitate the Town’s vision. To achieve this vision, the
Town must have the financial capability to do so.
• This capability is referred to as financial health: the long‐term
ability to deliver the level and types of services expected by the
community, as well as meet financial commitments at acceptable
levels of taxation in relation to the environment in which the Town
operates.
• Numerous financial challenges and pressures can threaten the
Town’s financial health.
• These issues include, but are not limited to:
• expenditure pressures
• new growth
• inflation
• securing sustainable revenues and funding sources
• pressure to keep municipal taxes affordable
The Long‐Term Financial Health Framework (LTFHF) has been created
to consider future financial challenges through agreed‐upon
principles, strategies and processes.
The Long-Term Financial
Health Framework (LTFHF)
was created to consider future
financial challenges through
agreed-upon principles,
strategies and processes.
The implementation of the
framework will guide the Town
in making decisions necessary
to plan for
financial health, while
maintaining a level of
adaptability, in order to help
achieve the strategic
plan’s vision.

Long‐Term Financial
Health Framework
17

Public Participation for the Municipal Budget
• Council has committed to
enhancing public involvement in
budget decisions through several
engagement activities during the
budget process.
• The portion of funding that comes
from taxes is used to build the
community and is treated with
care, prudence and respect.
• It is vital that residents are
included and have opportunities
to provide feedback throughout
the process.

Budget 2021
• This first public engagement was a quick check‐in on the impact that COVID‐19 has had on
residents and their priorities for the Town services they need in 2021, which helped Council
establish the guidelines for building the 2021 budget.
• The survey opened on September 8 and closed on September 23.
Phase 1 What We Heard Report

Budget 2021

• Phase Two, ended on October 22, expanded on the
feedback from the first phase and dug even deeper
into the community’s priorities by asking residents
and business owners to make critical choices on
community service levels and user fees.
• Final approval of the 2021 budget will go before
Council at the December 14 Council meeting.
Budget 2021

Budget 2021

In the Phase 1 survey, two questions were asked on tax increases.
1. Over the past few years, Okotoks residents and businesses have traditionally indicated in Community Household
Surveys and Participatory Budget exercises that they would like to maintain services, which represents a small tax
increase. i.e. 1% tax increase = $1.95/month on the typical property tax bill. Due to recent world experiences and
your personal experiences over the past few months, has your perception on this changed and what would you
prefer the Town to do now. 59% of respondents either somewhat supported or strongly supported increasing
taxes to maintain current service levels.
2. The Town has a number of financial tools that can be used to balance the budget. Tell us how much you support or
oppose the following option: increase residential property taxes. 27% of respondents either somewhat supported
or strongly supported increasing taxes to balance the budget.
The results from these two questions were very different. Based on this feedback, Council recommended a 1% tax
increase, which is equivalent to $1.95 per month for the typical household. This tax will be used to reduce impacts like
service level decreases or user fee increases.

Citizen Panel

A Shift Towards Priority Based Budgeting
• Priority based budgeting is a process used by
municipalities to understand their communities
values and budget according to those values
while still providing flexibility to meet the
changing needs of the community.
• Bottom line: You need to understand
community priorities and allocate the
resources accordingly.
44
Cheryl Hurtak
Mandy Edwards

Why Priority Based Budgeting Now
• When organizations have financial challenges, lower
priority programs can be reduced or eliminated.
Financial resources can also be reallocated from
lower to higher priority programs.
• When organizations are growing and have ample
resources, financial resources can be allocated to
higher priority programs to increase service levels in
high priority programs.
45

The Return From Priority Based Budgeting
Return on investment (ROI) from Priority Based Budgeting
• STRATEGIC – furthers strategic vision and goals by linking tangible plans and
actions through the corporate planning and budget process.
• FINANCIAL – provides mechanisms to reduce non‐priority services in times
of fiscal constraint ‐ avoids across the board cuts.
• SERVICE EXCELLENCE – Resources allocated to priorities enhances service
excellence in areas that matter the most to residents – increases Quality of
Life.
46
Al Perrault

Priority Based Budget
47
Areas to improve:
• Public Works
• Protective Services
• Water & Sewer Services
Secondary area to improve:
• Online services
2018 Community Household Survey
In the 2018 Community
Household Survey,
citizens ranked these
services as
very important to the
community but also
indicated that they were
areas needing
improvement:

Property Tax Subsidization 2021 Budget ($M)
Division 2021
($M)
%
Protective Services 9.547 32
Infrastructure & Operations 6.818 23
Community Services 6.008 20
Corporate & Strategic Services 5.079 17
Development Services 2.346 8
Finance & Systems 2.112 7
Transfer from Utilities Services to Support Taxes ‐1.713 ‐7
Property Taxes Revenue 30.196 100
$2.0
$4.0
$6.0
$8.0
$10.0
Protective
Services
Operations &
Infrastructure
Community
Services
Corporate &
Strategic
Services
Development
Services
Finance &
Systems
$9.55
$6.82
$6.01
$5.08
$2.35
$2.11
48

49
2018 Community Household Survey areas of improvement:
• Public Works
• Protective Services
• Water & Sewer Services
• Online services
Aligning Resources to What the Community Values

50
What we have done to improve this area since
August 2018?
Public Works ‐ Transportation & Parks/Cemetery
• Integrated snow clearing policy ‐ 7 day snow clearing on pathways
• 2 FTE added in 2019 (Transportation and Parks) working Saturdays to
increase service response, presence and reduce callouts
• Formalized a third‐party call center 24/7/365 for improved customer service
and record tracking
• Facility condition assessments implemented for prioritized asset
maintenance
• Many multi‐year service contracts for stable budgetary forecasting
• Formalized preventative maintenance program in storm sewer service to
improve reliability and performance
Fleet utilization review has resulted in:
• Disposal to right size operational needs and align with utilization
• Disposal leveraging recoverable costs
• Lowering Business Centre operational costs
• Challenge better internal utilization rather than contracting where
applicable
• Contract out services where it is no longer a best practise internally 2018 Community Household Survey

Priority Based Budgeted
51
• Eco Centre hours were optimized after audit and positioning report to Council.
• Reduced approximately 160 hours of staff time from Transportation BC reducing GHG
emissions associated with this program.
• Larger curb side carts (240L) were added as options for residential to meet needs and
better align with the organic program.
• Reduced garbage collection program went from three to two trucks for daily collection.
• Evolved to 4‐day collection for all three waste streams.
• Regional contracts are being established with Black Diamond and Turner Valley for a
cost sharing partnership.
• Went to market through an open Recycling RFP, resulting in a contract that resulted in
costs saving over a three year period.
• Reviewed fleet utilization and disposed of two underutilized side load trucks and
associated bins. Many bins had never been deployed and this program was converted
to a lower cost contract option.
What we have done to improve this area since August 2018:
Waste Services
Four‐day Waste Collection
• Route optimization
• One‐day dedicated maintenance
• Improved contractor flexibility
• Less carts on street equals a coordinated efficiency for other Public Works
maintenance operations
Okotoks Eco Centre
• Schedule changes for cost savings
Yard Waste Management
• Containers versus loader and truck hauling‐ reduced Transportation staff
demands and high cost resources (truck and loader)
• No impact to residents
• Redirect transportation staff hours and equipment
• Reduced CO2

52
Storm and Water & Sanitary Services
Storm
• A versatile maintenance truck for catch basin maintenance was added in 2018 which compliments the existing mechanical street sweeper and in‐house expertise.
• GIS tracking and record keeping for inquires, response and maintenance now ensures proper documentation and live condition status of assets.
• AEP has been advised that a consistent and accurate representation of the Storm pond and outfall network will be completed.
• Transportation has taken the lead on maintenance projects in house utilizing Town resources to save costs and provide growth and knowledge internally.
Water and Sanitary Services
• Completed the installation of real‐time water meters throughout the community.
• Completed extensive water system leak repairs reducing unaccounted water percentage in the water distribution system.
• Water Services was transitioned from EPCOR to the Town in November 2019. Operational cost savings of over $0.37M was realized in 2020.
• Preventative maintenance on water distribution flushing, main valve exercising and sanitary collection inspection and flushing was brought from 20% to 100%.
• The WWTP electrical consumption was reduced in 2019 by 8.4%. The WTP electricity was reduced in 2019 by 17%. Many system process improvements that are ongoing will
likely result in further energy savings in 2020 and beyond, reducing the cost of treating water.
• Initiated an online water calculator feature for customers to estimate their utility bill based on consumption.
• Implemented a more transparent billing structure showing each water consumption tier and the reflected impacted per m3.
• Added Nexen well non‐potable account program ‐ reducing use of potable water and introduced new revenue. Both bulk water revenues increased by $0.050M per year.
• New outdoor watering schedule resulted in smoothing out peak demands that historically aligned with peak indoor use. 2018 peak day demand was 13.5M3, reduced from the
2017 peak day demand of 15.5M3. Staff continue to manage unaccounted water and ensure that the system wide loss percentage is being reduced.

53
Protective Services – Okotoks Municipal Enforcement, RCMP and Fire Department
Community Engagement / Enhanced Visibility / Crime Reduction / Traffic Safety
• 2018 – Fire Services commenced 24/7 services from South Station.
• 2020 – Efficiencies in Fire Administration, and additional firefighters resulting in 6 Fire Fighters on duty 24/7 (3 north + 3
south) Equalizing and reducing overall response times.
• Fire Code inspections increased by 12.12%.
• 2018 Municipal Enforcement deployed Adopt‐a‐School program enhancing youth engagement and education.
• Delivered education focused commercial vehicle inspections to local business owners, increasing compliance and overall
road safety.
• Youth focused Positive Ticketing campaign deployed by Peace Officers and RCMP rewarding positive behavior.
• Implemented 3 new speeds signs for traffic calming and education in priority areas.
• Implemented educational safety videos for bike and pathway safety.
• Implemented enforcement operations focusing on distracted driving.
• “Patrolling with Purpose” to local crime related hot spots and neighborhood specific patrolling.
• Outstanding arrest warrant roundups.
• Offender Management Proactive Compliance Checks.
• Property Crime initiatives, i.e. Lock it or lose it, neighborhood safety checks of vehicles, open garage doors and unsecure
properties.
Property Crime – Down 29%
Break and Enters ‐ Down 8%
Theft of Motor Vehicles – Down 29%
Theft under $5000 – Down 45%

54
Online services enhancement:
• New Okotoks.ca website
• Active Okotoks online recreation program
• Increased online streaming of Council and its Committee meetings; increased Mayor’s messaging
• Increased use of videos and social media messaging
• Asset Management with GIS integration
• Added 85 public facing digital (Laserfiche) forms to improve processing and tracking of documents,
including:
o Business license application
o Business development intake forms
o Workflows to improve customer service and remove red tape.
• Online application forms and workflow for Energy and Water Conservation Programs
• Online Council Committee citizen application
• Fee Assistance form and workflow
• Enhanced Santa Tracker with GPS for Emergency Services Christmas Eve Santa Claus Parade
• GIS Open Data Portal
• Interactive and storyboard mapping
• Water Meter portal

Council’s Budget Guideline Highlights
55

• 1% property tax increase for 2021
• Residential tax increase for typical residence of 2%
for 2022 and beyond
• Maintain the non‐residential tax rate ratio of 150%
in 2021
• 5‐year operating plan required (1 year Budget and
4 year forecast)
• 10‐year capital plan required (1 year Budget and 9
year forecast)
56
Alan Fraser

57
Strategic Priorities
Council approved the following as the non‐negotiable priorities for 2021:
• The regional supplemental water solution
• The delivery of the Arts & Learning Campus
• The delivery of three (3) components of the Long Term Financial Health
Framework: Reserve Policy, Off Site Levies, and Impacts of planned library
requisitions on overall tax rates
• Affordable Housing Initiatives
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
• COVID‐19 core service adaptation to meet priority community needs (e.g.
social fabric and business retention)

2021 Budget Guideline Considerations
58
Uncertainties:
• National and provincial economic conditions
• Impacts from Federal and/or Provincial policy
changes
• Factoring in a decline or loss of provincial long‐term
funding
• Fiscal reckoning after COVID‐19

Franchise Fees
59
• Fortis Alberta Inc.: Increase from 18% to 20% for 2021.
• ATCO Gas and Pipeline Ltd.: Increase from 16% to 20% for 2021.
Grants
• Municipal Sustainability Initiatives (MSI) capital beyond 2021/2022 ‐ use 40% of
existing current MSI funding.
• For Federal Gas Tax Fund ‐ use 40% of current level for years after 2024.
(MSI ending in 2021)
2021 Budget Guideline Considerations

Risk Management
60
• Current economic climate
• Federal and Provincial current budget
realities
• Potential implications of a new provincial
and federal budgets
• Long‐term growth rate and development
fluctuations have impact on debt levels
and cash flow

Growth Assumptions
61
2021 – 2023 population increase 1% per year; 2% per year after 2024
Development Acres 15 hectares of development per year
Housing starts (R1 & R2) 150 per year
Housing starts (Multi‐family) 50 per year
Housing Completions (R1 & R2) 150 per year
Housing Completions (Multi‐family) 50 per year
Assessed Value $450,000/home, $300,000/multi‐family

Capital Budget 2021
Sub Total 6.370
Estimated Carry Forward Capital Amount 23.561
Net Pre‐approved Projects from 2020 Budget 7.900
Council Approval of Capital Project List 37.831
62
Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade (Project 181‐182) 1.000
Facilities and Operations (Project 148,189,192) 1.510
Okotoks Community Campus (Project 214) 2.500
Fleet Asset Replacement Program (Project 190) 0.415
Solar System PCA (Project 33) 0.720
Others 0.225
Major Capital Projects 2021 ($M)
Total 6.370

10 Year Capital Plan – Strategic Direction
$160M Total Projects
CAPITAL
PROJECTS
2025
$87.076M
Provide Quality Infrastructure
$0.450M
$58.004M
$1.515M
Promote Environmental Excellence
$1.750M
$7.626M
Strengthen Health & Safe Community
$3.605M
Enhance Organization Excellence
63
TIMELINE 2021 2023
2022 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

2021
Capital
Plan
Sanitary
System
Projects
64

Asset Management – Property Tax Assets
• The Town supports a recommendation to Council to support implementation of a more robust Asset
Management Strategy.
• This ties into the 01 Asset Management and 02 Reserve & Reserve Fund Management sections of the
financial health strategies established in the Long‐Term Financial Health Framework.
• The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of Alberta recommends, “Governments adopt a
written policy addressing capital asset reserve for renewal and replacement.” This policy “should be
supported by clear policies identifying how the reserve will be formed, how it may be used, and other
considerations.” This should extend to “long term financing considerations and strategies.” The asset
replacement financing strategy should identify reserves, grants and/or debt financing scenarios.
• The Town is currently formalizing a strategy relating to the maintenance, replacement and growth of
assets required to support the Town’s service levels and strategies. The Town has identified there may
be a significant funding gap between currently available financing and future expected funding
requirements.
• A detailed asset inventory is required to undertake a comprehensive condition assessment and risk
analysis. This will provide information to guide maintenance opportunities as well as highlight
priorities in terms of asset failure risks. The complete data set will support a detailed, scenario‐based
analysis of future funding requirements and operational strategies to maximise asset life and service
levels, while minimizing financial demands on limited resources. Our current Asset Management
toolkit has the capabilities required to achieve these objectives.
• Until such time that the detailed data capture is completed, the immediate approach to assessing
future requirements for reserves would be to use TCA amortization costs as an indicator of future
reserve requirements. As an initial starting point, we propose that the asset replacement reserves be
set at 50% of current amortization values.
65

2019 Tangible
Capital Asset
Report
67

Funding Specific to 2021 Capital Projects
68
2020 Capital Project Funding
2021 Capital Project Funding

Financial Strategy Specific to the 2021 Capital Project
69
2021 Financing ‐ $6.37M 2020 Financing ‐ $17.955M

2021 Grant Funding Including Carry Forward and Pre‐Approved ($M)
The Town will utilize $22.063 in grants for operating and capital projects in
2021.
These grants include:
• $13.025 Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI)
• $ 3.750 Gas Tax Fund (GTF)
• $ 3.247 Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP)
• $ 1.723 Green Trip
• $ 0.318 Municipal Operating Support Transfer (MOST)
70

Capital Budget Realities
• The Province’s newly released budget confirms that the current MSI
Program will be replaced by the Local Government Fiscal Framework
(LGFF). The new fiscal framework will be legislated and provide long term
sustainable funding.
• Currently the Town receives approximately $6M annually in MSI.
• Our best estimate of future LGFF that replaces the MSI Capital funding is
approximately $2.6M as of 2022. The LGFF program allocation and
methodology has not been formally established.
• The Province has advised that it will have to reconsider funding
allocations to Municipalities based on the current fiscal realities.
• The Town is in the process of updating its offsite levy bylaw and is in
conversations with developers about new funding and financing options.
This may have impacts on future debt levels and cash flow.
71

Budget 2021 Funding Graphs
72
‐25.0
0.0
25.0
50.0
2021
Reserves Compared to Minimum Reserve
2021 ($M)
Minimum Reserves Reserves OSL
Reserves Utilities Reserve Non Utilities
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
2021
Debt & Town Debt Maximum Limit (75%
of MGA) 2021 ($M)
Town Debt Max Limits Debt
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
2021
Debt Service & Town Debt Service
Maximum Limit (75% of MGA) 2021 ($M)
Debt Servicing Town Maximum Debt Servicing

Forecasting 2022‐2030 Funding Graphs
73

Forecasting 2022‐2030 Funding Graphs
74
‐10.0
‐5.0
0.0
5.0
2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
LGFF Modelling 2022 ‐2030
($M’s)
Grant LGFF Inputs Grant LGFF Uses Grant LGFF Funding Remaining

2021 Capital Financial Strategy
75

Forecasting 2022-2030 Funding Graphs

Impact of Capital on Operating Budget:
Cumulative Interest Costs of Debt
Cumulative interest cost over the term – Rates October 29, 2020 Alberta Capital Finance Authority (ACFA):
Debt Term Rate
Operating Budget Impact
($M)
$1,000,000
10 1.2860% 0.068
20 1.9440% 0.212
30 2.2524% 0.381
Debt Term Rate
Operating Budget Impact
($M)
$10,000,000
10 1.2860% 0.688
20 1.9440% 2.117
30 2.2524% 3.810
77

Operating Budget: 2021 Budget with Forecast
2021 ‐2025 ($M)
Category 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue 63.06 64.62 66.70 68.43 69.88
Expense 57.98 57.14 57.31 57.20 58.43
Excess Revenues over Expenditures 5.08 7.48 9.39 11.23 11.45
Debt Principal 1.33 1.50 1.39 1.16 1.05
Transfers to/(from) Capital Reserves 5.25 5.86 7.62 8.91 9.78
Transfers to/(from) Operating Reserves ‐1.50 0.12 0.38 1.16 0.62
78

Operating Budget: Revenue & Expense Summary 2021 ($M)
Category Total Utility Tax
Revenue 63.06 15.25 47.81
Expense 59.31 9.73 49.58
Sub‐Total 3.75 5.52 ‐1.77
Reserves 3.75 3.81 ‐0.06
Net ‐ 1.71 ‐1.71
79

Operating Budget: Total Revenue by Category 2021 ($M)
80

Operating Budget: Total Revenue by Category 2020 ($M)
81

Comparison: Total Revenue by Category 2021 to 2020 ($M)
82
2020
2021

Operating Budget: Total Expenditures by Category 2021 ($M)
83

Operating Budget: Total Expenditures by Category 2020 ($M)
84

Comparison: Total Expenditures by Category 2021 to 2020 ($M)
85
2021 2020

Operating Budget: Total Expenditure by Division 2021 ($M)
86

Operating Budget: Total Expenditure by Division 2020 ($M)
87

Operating Budget Highlights
1.00%
PROPOSED TAX
INCREASE
$1.95
PROPOSED MUNICIPAL
PROPERTY TAX INCREASE FOR A
TYPICAL DWELLING
(excluding requisitions)
Per
Month
RESIDENTIAL AVERAGE
(based on assessed value
of $450,000)
2021 2020
TOTAL MUNICIPAL TAXES
(excluding requisitions)
$2,381 $2,357
88

Previous Year
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
REVENUES
Fine Revenue 0.598 0.580 0.580 0.580 0.580 0.580
Franchise and Conces sion Contracts 3.096 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000
Licenses , Permits and Fees 1.732 1.832 1.972 1.972 1.972 1.972
Other Revenues 1.552 0.564 0.578 1.046 1.048 1.049
Penalties and Costs on Taxes 0.531 0.553 0.553 0.553 0.553 0.553
Rental Revenues 2.759 2.753 2.911 2.960 3.002 3.047
Return on Inves tments 0.927 0.945 0.898 0.856 0.861 0.819
Sales a nd User Charges 16.846 17.251 17.889 18.463 19.061 19.368
Taxes and Grants in Pla ce 29.991 30.196 31.252 32.329 33.427 34.547
Trans fers from Governments and other
Organizations
4.399 4.386 3.991 3.940 3.929 3.942
Total 62.431 63.061 64.622 66.697 68.432 69.876
EXPENDITURES
Contracted and General Services 15.506 16.525 14.831 14.810 14.523 15.390
Long Term Interes t 0.631 0.715 0.722 0.674 0.633 0.603
Materials, Goods , Supplies 3.258 3.221 3.633 3.448 3.248 3.272
Other Expenditures 0.349 0.961 0.376 0.339 0.340 0.335
Purchas es from Other Governments 5.178 5.369 5.505 5.575 5.648 5.707
Salaries, Wages & Benefits 27.369 27.589 28.375 28.678 28.940 29.165
Bank Charges and Short Term Interest 0.075 0.080 0.080 0.081 0.082 0.083
Utilities 3.314 3.520 3.619 3.703 3.788 3.874
Total 55.680 57.978 57.141 57.306 57.201 58.428
EXCESS OF REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURES 6.751 5.082 7.481 9.391 11.231 11.449
Debt Principal 3.482 1.334 1.505 1.390 1.161 1.048
Trans fers to (from) Other Functions 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Trans fers to (from) Capital Res erve 1.760 5.253 5.859 7.616 8.914 9.784
Trans fers to (from) Operating Reserve 1.509 ‐1.505 0.117 0.385 1.157 0.617
Tax Support 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Amortization 10.640 11.399 12.190 12.412 12.458 12.622
Town of Okotoks
Revenues & Expenditures ‐ Budget ‐ 5 Year Forecast
Summary ($M)

Operating Budget Highlights
3% increase for
• Recreation fees and facility rental
rates
2.26%average increase for
• Water
• Sewer
• Storm fees
• Waste fees
90

Cost Saving Adjustments
91
Survey Items Implemented Slightly &
Totally
Supported
in Budget
Survey
Division Impacts of Reduction Tax
Savings
2021 ($M)
Tax
Savings
in 2022+
($M)
Museum & Art Gallery hours:
Potential reduction of services would be to be open the facilities for 4
days/week from Wednesdays to Saturdays. The Museum & Art Gallery are open
5 days per week and 6 days per week in the summer months before COVID‐19.
Since reopening in June of this year, they are currently operating at 4 days per
week.
82.30% Community
Services
Maintain reduced days as in
2020 at 4 days per week for
2021 only.
0.037 0.000
Communication Services:
Potential reduction of the amount of printed materials that provide information
about Town programs, services and activities. Additionally, the Town could
reduce advertising by eliminating or reducing the number of advertisements in
the local newspaper and/or the amount of radio advertisements the Town runs
on the local radio.
80.10% Corporate &
Strategic
Services
Reduce printed advertising and
publications using a phased
approach.
0.040 0.050

92
Totally
Supported
in Budget
Survey
Savings
2021 ($M)
Tax
Savings
in 2022+
($M)
Environmental Education Program:
Potential reduction in conservation focused events, door‐to‐door information
and presentations to schools and businesses. This program provides
environmental education to residents, schools and local businesses to support
the Town’s environmental initiatives in water, waste and energy reduction.
64.41% Corporate &
Strategic Services
Reduction of expenses for
conservation educator
program for 2021 only.
0.035 0.000
Maintenance of Green Spaces:
There is a potential to reduce the number of times grass is cut in manicured
green spaces, along with weed control. The Town could also reduce tree and
shrub pruning throughout the community.
56.78% Infrastructure &
Operations
This includes a reduction in
frequency of parks
maintenance and tree
planting. Deferral of some
asset renewal items in
2021.
0.205 0.082

93
Totally
Supported
in Budget
Survey
Savings
2021 ($M)
Tax
Savings
in 2022+ ($M)
Municipal Enforcement:
Hours Potential reduction of service hours by 2 hours per day or
seasonally, dependent on peak call times. The current normal hours for
Municipal Enforcement Peace Officers are from 6 a.m. to midnight.
52.83% Protective
Services
Reduce Municipal
Enforcement hours of
service by 2 hrs per day
0.025 0.000
TOTAL SERVICE LEVEL REDUCTIONS REMOVED FROM BUDGET
Tax Support
Reduction
$0.342 $0.132

Historical Vacancy Factor
94
Note: 2020 year end variance estimate is a result of temporary layoffs/holding of vacant positions due to COVID

Rates & Fees for 2021
• Council direction for fees and charges is
provided by the Rates and Fees Bylaw.
• The first reading of this bylaw will come
forward at the November 23 meeting.
• The second and third readings are scheduled
at the same time as budget approval on
December 14.
• Community Services rate review.
95

External Request for Funding
Formalizing the Okotoks Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for $0.075M
96
“That consideration of the funding request from the
Okotoks Entrepreneurial Ecosystem be deferred to
the 2022 budget cycle pending receipt of a detailed
business plan including a detailed budget, and
evidence that all other potential funding and loan
sources have been investigated and exhausted.”

2021 Staffing
$27.4M 2020
$27.6M 2021
FTE = Full Time Equivalent
A unit of measure that is equal to the full time hours for one position
97
OUR STAFF CONSISTS OF 277 FTE/EMPLOYEES:
• 239 permanent full‐time & permanent part‐time positions
• 38 non‐permanent positions (seasonal, on‐call, temporary)
Budget guideline maintained – no net increase to staffing
(Note: no market increases/cost of living adjustment for staff budgeted in 2020 and 2021)

• Protective Services (pg. 100 – 104)
• Infrastructure & Operations (pg. 105‐109)
• Community Services (pg. 110‐117)
• Corporate & Strategic Services (pg.118 ‐122)
• Development Services (pg. 123‐128)
• Finance & Systems (pg. 129‐133)
• Utilities (pg. 134‐139)
The Budget Detail by Divisions
Divisions
(Tax Support levels)
98
Where Your Tax Money Goes
9.547
6.818
6.008
5.079
2.346
2.112
‐1.713
Protective Services
Operations & Infrastructure
Community Services
Corporate & Strategic Services
Development Services
Finance & Systems
Utilities Services

Protective Services
100

Budget Detail by Division: Protective Services
FTEs: 45.25 FTE’s
Expenditure: $10.758M
Revenue: $ 2.447M
Changed or Enhanced Core Services:
• Reduce Municipal Enforcement hours of service by 2 hrs per day ($.025M)
• Core Services adjusted in all Protective Services business centers in 2021 to protect
emergency response capabilities while maintaining all critical services during ongoing
pandemic.
• Efficiencies continue to evolve within the management structure of Fire Services contributing
to increased frontline services capacity.
• Additional front line Fire Fighters are now fully trained and deployed providing balanced
service capacity to all areas of the Town.
• RCMP contracted services maintaining 25 officers to ensure enhanced visibility and reductions
in crime.
• Municipal Enforcement continue to adjust operations to meet challenges associated to COVID‐
19 and maintain all services to the community.
• Evaluation and potential relaxation of municipal bylaws will continue to ensure appropriate
response during pandemic. (e.g. trailers parked in driveways during 2021 summer)
Division: Protective Services
Business Centres:
• Fire Services
• Emergency Management (Disaster Services)
• Municipal Enforcement Services
• Municipal Support Services – RCMP
Strategic Direction:
Healthy and Safe Community
Organizational Excellence
102
$9.547

Efficiencies:
• Development of enhanced Emergency Operations Center supported by remote
access technologies.
• Emergency Management processes adapted during pandemic response
increasing efficiencies and supporting our capacity to maintain critical and vital
services.
• Continued updating of Community Emergency Management Plan (CEMP)
including amending flood action plans to include response during a pandemic.
• Business Continuity Plans amended to consider unique challenges of pandemic.
• Reallocation of duties in Police Support division allowing for efficiencies in
staffing.
• Deployment of maintenance routes ongoing to create efficiencies across multiple
business centers during street sweeping and snow removal.
• Compliance Officer duties expanded to include quality assurance within
Municipal Enforcement Team. Compliance Officer continues to assist several
business centers including business licensing, planning and development, Illegal
suites, waste services, and snow removal, ensuring regulatory education and
compliance.
• Protective Services will support adaptations in special event planning, community
engagement and social fabric initiatives during pandemic response.
• Protective Services will assist Community Wellness initiatives to support families
during ongoing challenges faced during pandemic.
103
Challenges:
• Pandemic has impacted normal revenue streams due
to reduced traffic, criminal records checks, and court
closures.
• Protection of fire services crews working / training in
close proximity is addressed through safety protocols
designed to protect from contracting COVID‐19.
• Practicum student program in Municipal
Enforcement delayed due to Pandemic reducing the
proactive educational work typically deployed by our
students. Adapted processes and precautions will
allow for the modified re‐engagement of this
valuable program.
• Conventional delivery of fire safety messaging,
community engagement initiatives, school / youth
programs will continue to be challenged due to
pandemic limitations. Communications will
collaborate with Protective Services teams in
delivering engagement and prevention initiatives
electronically.
• Enhanced visibility of officers will be challenging with
less personal connection, however, visible patrols
within neighbourhoods will continue to assist in
closing the community engagement gap.

104
Funding:
Rates & Fees – included in Rates & Fees Bylaw
Levies – none
Property Tax Support
• Division reliant upon tax support
Reserve Contribution ‐ none
Grants (MSI, Fuel tax, specific initiatives)
• Provincial grants are available for training initiatives in fire and disaster services.
• Provincial policing grants continue to be applied ($0.606M)
One Time Operating Expenses ‐ none
Capital Projects ‐ none

Infrastructure & Operations
105
Nancy Wessely

*2019 stats

Budget Detail by Division: Infrastructure & Operations
FTEs: 36.94 FTE in 2021
Revenue: $0.871M
• Growth areas ‐ Newly developed campus sports field. Public lands and assets
contributed from developers in Mountainview, Air Ranch, Drake Landing and D’Arcy
• Utilize a facility condition index program to prioritize an asset management program
that will reference future and ongoing funding requirements
• Commence a utilization, justification and cost of ownership review in Fleet Services
• Integration of asset management to the corporate Citywide software platform
• Increase to pathway surface (asphalt) and concrete sidewalk maintenance based on
condition assessments
• Reduced mowing cycles from 18 to 16 per season
• Reduced weed bed cycles from 18 to 16 per season
• Reduced annual tree planting by 50%
• Reduced park furnishing purchases
• Addition of 60,000 square feet of corporate facility‐ OALC
• Assist in coordination of upgrades/modifications to the existing library facility
Division: Infrastructure & Operations
Business Centres:
• Transportation & Fleet
• Parks & Cemetery
• Facilities Maintenance
107
6.818

Efficiencies:
• Cross‐functional and internal cross training to increase resiliency and response to deliver core services as well as support
internal projects
• Strategic procurement and contract tendering with a focus toward the creation of multi‐year contracts, service delivery
stability and cost savings
• Expand tablet‐based preventative maintenance programs across the Division
• Full utilization of after hour emergency call center tracking for customer service improvements
• Continue to pursue satellite dispatch locations across other Town locations
Challenges:
• The ongoing requirement to support capital projects and manage growth in assets detract from day to day operations
without corresponding resources
• Growth in Town footprint is resulting in delayed service delivery that dispatches out of a centralized location (Operations
Centre)
• Identifying need for future satellite facilities or service delivery modifications to provide more timely service delivery
resulting in efficiency, cost savings and reduction in environmental footprint
• Uncertainty of cemetery expansion location and long‐term plan
• Alignment of future lands requirements with the Corporate Land Strategy and interim site maintenance obligations
• Uncertain pandemic situation in 2021 and challenges with resourcing
108

Efficiencies:
Rates & Fees
• Included in rates and fees bylaw
Levies ‐ none
• Division largely reliant upon tax
support
Reserve Contribution ‐ none
• Provincial grants may be available
One Time Operating Expenses & Capital
Projects
One Time Operating Expenses
Approved in 2020
• Project 32027 – Interchange Functional Plan ‐
$0.168M
109
Capital Projects
• Project 189 – Municipal Facility Enhancements: $0.150M
• Project 190 – Fleet: $0.415M
• Project 192 – Operations Yard Expansion: $0.910M
• Project 214 – Community Campus Lands Development: $2.500M

Community Services
110
Stephanie Janes

Community Services
*2019 stats

Community Services
Light Up 2019

Budget Detail by Division: Community Services
FTEs: 86.54 FTE for 2021
Revenue: $6.334M
Division: Community Services
Business Centres:
• Aquatics
• Community Programs & Events
• Culture & Historical Services
• Recreation Client Services
• Recreation Facilities
• Community Wellness
• Public Transportation
Organizational Excellence
113
• COVID‐19 business model is adjusted regularly as new information
and learning occur
o Offering increased online services (admissions, facility pass
sales and activity reservations to meet Covid‐19 protocols)
at activeokotoks.ca
o Increased cleaning and sanitization
o Revised process, systems and programs
o Integrated Emergency Social Services (ESS) Covid‐19
pandemic response and recovery programs and supports
within existing budget
• Provincial changes in funding has impacted the receipt of grants
for children’s services and the Parent Link Program. Community
impact is being monitored
• Age Friendly Community Initiative funded through existing budget
• Preparing to host the 2023 Alberta Summer Games ($0.250M),
which will be funded through reserves
• The Pandemic will continue to have significant impacts on the
operations of community services and on overall community
wellbeing
6.008

Efficiencies:
• Sunday closure of the Okotoks Recreation Centre and Pason Centennial Arena in July and August
reduces staffing requirements ($0.012M)
• Year long closure of Okotoks Art Gallery and Okotoks Museum and Archives from 7 days/week
to 4 days/week ($0.037M)
• Online waivers for facility passes and registrations as well as online reservations for drop‐in
activities and facility pass sales
• Sharing and cross training staff within different facilities
114

Challenges:
• Maintaining service levels and meeting resident expectations, with increasing usage/program demand and balancing new Covid‐19
procedures requirements/recommendations within existing resources.
• The continuous update of policies/procedures requires extensive support to ensure these changes are shared with the
public in a timely manner
• Economic effects of Covid‐19 and slow economic recovery is placing financial constraints on:
1. residents’ disposable income thereby reducing ability to pay/register for programs and services while increasing the
demand for social support
2. businesses disposable income & reduced sponsorship funding, which is currently being absorbed in the base budget
3. Not‐for‐profit organizations income reductions are creating a challenge to provide support services for vulnerable residents
• The increase in online services means an increase in technology requirements; software and website updates, patron support and
transaction monitoring.
• The provision of a high level of customer service and positive experience at the recreation centres is impacted when personal
contact is discouraged or limited. Maximizing the use of recreation facilities and balancing the types of usage and opportunities
with continued pandemic restrictions will continue to be a challenge during the pandemic.
• Community Access Program (CAP) demand is difficult to predict. As the number of seniors increases in Okotoks the need for
supportive transportation options will increase. Monitoring the community access programs and the effects of on‐demand transit
will be analyzed throughout 2021.
• Increased urgent and complex social needs are being observed by Community Wellness, compounded by a lack of increase in FCSS
funding is resulting in an increase in requests for services and ultimately unfunded community programs.
115

Funding – Rates & Fees:
• No change for daily admissions to Okotoks Recreation Centre
• No change to monthly, 3 month or annual passes
• 3% increase to arena (ice) youth and adult prime and sport camp rates
• 3% increase to arena dry rates
• 3% increase to aquatic rates
• 3% increase to all outdoor sports field rates and outdoor bookable spaces
• 3% increase to meeting rooms and cultural spaces rental rates
• 3% increase to Foothills Centennial Centre rates
• Aquatic courses based on cost recovery
• Community fitness, recreation and life‐learning programs based on cost recovery
• Increase to Transit rates $0.25 cents/single ride
116

Funding :
Levies
None
• Division is largely reliant (approximately 50%) upon tax support
• Year over year property tax support decrease of $0.315M
• Total revenues decrease by $0.167M which is largely comprised
of decreased funding from other levels of government
• Total expenditures increased by $0.903M which is offset from
transfers from reserves $0.909M
• Family and Community Support Services transfer from province
$0.738M
• Elder Abuse Grants: Alberta Seniors and Housing $0.330M
• Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) $0.010M‐$0.750M
for the Okotoks Recreation Centre
• Commitment of $0.020M funding from Okotoks Legion for Phase 2 of
Salute to our Veterans memorial expansion
117
One Time Operating Expenses & Capital Projects
• Project 71010 ‐ Aquatics Filter Replacement and Hot Water
Pressure Washer: $0.350M
• Project 72000 – Ice Plant – Loss on disposal: $0.238M
• Project 72045 – Dry Fire Sprinkler System: $0.225M
Approved in 2020
• Project 73000 – Community Programs – Alberta Summer
Games: $0.250M
Capital Projects
• Project 33 – Solar Panels – PCA: $0.720M

Corporate & Strategic Services
118

Budget Detail by Division: Corporate & Strategic Services
FTEs:
25.99 FTE for 2021. Division also includes expenses for 7 elected officials.
Revenue: $0.084M
• Coordinating the 2021 municipal election ($0.060M) and planning associated with orienting the newly elected officials
• Continuing work on Council directed strategic initiatives (e.g. water, affordable housing, etc.), as well as expanding the
corporate performance management system to include planned work on master plans as well as core services and associated
performance measures
• Communications support during COVID, Okotoks Transit, economic development initiatives as well as continuing to implement
the public participation toolkit across the organization for various major initiatives and capital projects including the Arts &
Learning Campus, Land Use Bylaw, downtown revitalization, etc.
• Responding to increased need for occupational health and safety advice, training and awareness such as mental health
initiatives; moving more to video for online employee training (e.g. new software, respectful workplace, accountability,
customer experience) and more online public participation
• Strategic Services staff assist with opportunities to implement Council’s strategic initiatives in an effort to bring new initiatives
to life. Once the projects are complete, the ongoing service is turned over to the appropriate Division and/or third party
partners (e.g. Affordable Housing, Urban Deer Task Force, the Arts & Learning Campus, water advocacy, facility energy
analysis/solar installations, etc.)
• Reducing expenses for conservation educator program due to COVID and postponing larger initiatives aligned with the
implementation of the Environmental Master Plan, including actions that may arise from the Climate Change Adaptation Plan
that will be presented to Council in early 2021. Corporate energy analysis and strategy development is a primary focus as well
as continued environmental education both through the Environmental Education Centre, online and limited in‐person events
(e.g. repair café, etc.)
Division: Corporate &
Strategic Services
Business Centres:
• Corporate Communications
• Human Resources
• Environment & Sustainability
• Legislative & Policy Services
• CAO’s Office & Council
Budget
120
5.079

Efficiencies
• Phased in, multi‐year approach to reducing the number of print publications and advertising
• Eliminating the municipal census as the 2021 Federal Census will provide an updated population and other demographic
information to use for future planning
• Grant seeking and application writing partnerships for in‐kind services and/or donations for various environmental initiatives has
been very successful over the past few years (e.g. over $0.700M during 2018‐2020 for energy efficiency including solar
installations, environmental education, climate change initiatives, etc.)
• Significant efforts continue to increase governance framework policies and clarification of roles, responsibilities, visioning,
performance indicators and service levels
• Organizational effectiveness includes streamlining records management, complete process reviews and automating processes,
digitizing documents to improve customer experience
Division Challenges:
• Running the municipal election requires dedicated resources throughout the year of the election. Planning and responding to
elections in a COVID‐19 environment and the changes in the MGA will bring additional pressures. Resources to plan for new
Council orientation and learning activities are also required in an election year.
• A significant increase in demands due to operating in a COVID world has impacted most of C&SS business centres as these support
all organizational services and initiatives, with the largest impact on Communications, Human Resources, and Legislative & Policy
Services, (to a lesser extent for Okotoks Transit, Environment & Sustainability and corporate business planning).
• Keeping abreast of and responding to legislative changes such as the Local Authorities Election Act, Occupational Health & Safety,
public health directives, employment standards, Municipal Government Act, etc.
• Adapting to the changing landscape for senior government grant opportunities, finding new grants and other creative means to
reduce costs
• Maintaining core services and adding new competencies in a rapidly changing world (e.g. finding time to transform corporate
culture, reinvent processes and citizen experiences, respond to increasing citizen demands, learn and master new software,
increase effectiveness, find efficiencies and be innovative)
121

Funding:
• Inclusion of a 0.4% corporate vacancy rate that poses a
reasonable risk based on historical averages.
Rates & Fees None
Levies None
• Division is largely reliant upon tax support.
• $0.025M from Municipal Climate Innovation
Program for staff to complete the Municipal Climate
Change Adaptation Plan.
122
One Time Operating Expenses Capital Projects
None
Capital Projects
None

Development Services
123

Budget Detail by Division: Development Services
FTEs: 28.34 FTE in 2021
Revenue: $1.979M
• Implement new Municipal Development Plan and complete new Land Use Bylaw to ensure alignment
with strategic priorities of Council
• Prepare new Area Structure Plans and Infrastructure Plans that support development of employment
based lands
• Work with the Province and the County on intermunicipal transportation and servicing plans to
effectively manage cross boundary matters
• Refinements to the Off‐site Levy Bylaw specifically as it relates to community amenities
• Focus on the provision of affordable housing through the use of municipal lands, regulatory allowances
and partnerships with developers and not‐for‐profits
• Integrated Engineering support for utilities operations and long range utility planning, long term and
interim water supply solutions.
• Increased staff commitment to regional collaboration role in ongoing leadership and support within
Calgary Metropolitan Region Board.
• Red tape reduction, Downtown Redevelopment Planning, and innovative business retention and
attraction, strategic property acquisitions, data collection and analysis
• Assessment/Inspections: Continue to develop and refine assessment resources to meet growth
demands and expand strategic support for land use and economic development initiatives.
• Increase Economic Development service levels while integrating Economic Development into Planning,
Engineering, Assessment and Inspection Services to achieve effective coordination, streamline
processes, and develop the Town’s role in supporting existing businesses, improving relationships and
focusing resources on business readiness.
Division: Development Services
Business Centres:
• Planning
• Economic Development
• Engineering
• Assessment
• Inspection (Safety Codes) Services
125
2.346

Efficiencies:
• Complete the development of electronic systems integration between departments to streamline approval times,
improve access to on line submissions and improve data integrity
• Assessment Notice and property owner negotiation process to reduce costly appeals and time.
• Increased cross training of staff (e.g. staff able to process different application types to allow increased ability to
adapt to changing workloads) and to ensure uniform consideration and priority for economic development
objectives and stakeholders.
126
• Leveraging staff resources and cultivating a Corporation‐wide Economic Development mind‐set and integral roles of
Engineering, Safety Codes and Planning services to achieve Council’s Economic Development Strategic Priorities.
• Balancing staff resource demands among long range planning, strategic utilities planning technical support, with
interim and long‐term water supply objectives, and technical review of new ASPs, Outline Plans and subdivision
approvals.
• Reduce red tape through policies and development permitting processes and navigation to support small business
start‐ups.
• Be proactive in providing information and clear communication to residents and the business community on the
intent of planning to promote community standards and values such as orderly development, minimizing conflicts
between land uses, timely and appropriate public participation, and equitable processes to manage growth.
• Regulatory and Policy Gaps: There are policy gaps and out‐dated policies that need to be addressed following, or in
parallel, with the review and adoption of a new Land Use Bylaw.
• Maintaining an active leadership role in policy development and implementation for the Calgary Metropolitan
Region Board

Funding:
Rates & Fees
• Included in rates and fees bylaw
Levies
• Offsite Levy Bylaw to be updated based on MGA provisions for community amenity costs while
ensuring the Town’s current and long term financial health.
• Division partially reliant upon tax support; Engineering supported in part by review & inspection
fees, utility fees and capital projects.
Reserve Contribution
• Engineering‐ budgeted contribution from Engineering and Inspection reserve
127

• Project 61000 – Affordable Housing (Placeholder) $0.200M.
• Project 62020 – Online Permitting System (Software) $0.150M.
• Project 63000 ‐ Recreation Centre Feasibility Study and Offsite Levy Update: $0.100M
Capital Projects
• Project 148 – New Entry Signage : $0.450M.
128

Finance & Systems
129

Utility Billing
Mailed 57%
Email 43%
Accounts Payable Invoicing
Invoices 76%
Credit Cards 24%
Accounts Payable Payments
EFT 81%
Cheques 19%

Budget Detail by Division: Finance & Systems
FTEs: 23.53 FTE for 2021
Expenditure: $ 5.832M
Revenue: $36.101M
• Off site levy management support
• Long‐term Financial Health Framework (LTFHF) staged implementation
• Ongoing rollouts of Asset Management functions ( to Community Services and
Infrastructure & Operations) including Geographic Information System (GIS)
enhancements
• Updating purchasing guidelines
• Assessment of Enterprise Risk Management strategy
• Development and assessment of current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
platform
• Enhancement of network security controls (for internal and external uses)
• Provide additional focused security training for all network end users
Division: Finance & Systems
Business Centres:
• Accounting Services (including Asset
Management and Procurement
Services )
• Information and Business Solutions
• Also includes budget for General
Municipal
131
2.112

132
Efficiencies:
• Implementing additional Asset Management functionality for Utilities to improve preventative maintenance plans and outputs.
• Implementing the new Hyperconverged Infrastructure system to provide increased speeds, improved visibility into systems and
reduced time required to manage the Town’s network.
• Ongoing purchasing improvements to streamline processes and maintain ongoing compliance to trade agreements ensuring
enterprise wide systems and processes are coordinated and improved
• Legislative requirements, continued demands for enhanced financial reporting and inquiries requiring more dynamic systems
• Developing strategies to meet the evolving needs of financial internal systems and process reviews, enhancements (including ERP
system maintenance), streamlining budget and forecast modelling
• Integration of Asset Management and GIS
• Off site levy, external shared services, and insurance monitoring and management support
• Managing and tracking grant and cash flow reporting requirements
• Increased IT security demands
• Managing demand from all business centres for new technology tools
• Integrating Long Term Financial Health Framework

Funding:
• Funding of large capital projects are putting a strain on maintaining investment income and debt limits
• The current U.S. dollar exchange rate has a negative impact on software & hardware costs.
Rates & Fees
• Franchise fees charged to electrical providers increased from 18% to 20%
• Franchise fees charged to natural gas providers increased from 16% to 20%
Levies ‐ none
• Division is largely reliant upon tax support
One Time Operating Expense
Approved in 2020
• Project 66006 ‐ Water Licenses – $1.500M
Capital Projects
None
133

Utilities
134
Photo by Emma Jenkins

Since resuming control of the water and
wastewater treatment plants the Town has
added 8,400 assets to our inventory.

Budget Detail by Division: Utilities
FTEs: 30.43 FTE in 2021
Revenue: $15.246M
• Focused effort on promoting increased enrollment for real‐time water meter portal enabling
residents to monitor and manage their water use
• Continue to promote the waste app. to increase number of subscribers
• Priority plan to investigate and reduce non‐revenue water volumes
• Optimize utilization of non‐potable water within the community
• Continue to implement recommendations from utility costing analysis study
• Continue to support education and promotion of utility programs
• Work to expand regional service delivery
• Improve preventative maintenance plans and outputs
• Reduce operator call‐outs and improve reliability of systems
• Commissioning of a critical process expansions at the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
Division: Utilities
Business Centres:
• Water, Wastewater, Storm Water
• Waste Management
136
‐1.713

Efficiencies:
• Rate stabilization for all utilities that includes:
o Full cost recovery, capital and operational reserves for Waste Management
o Build on Transfer to Tax Support in the Storm utility to 4% of revenue
o Establish operational stabilization reserves and an increase to capital for water and wastewater
• Rates and fees recovery costs for service and sustainability. Forecasted a 5 year structure that will generally range between 2.3% ‐ 3.3%
aggregate increase across storm sewer, water, and sanitary sewer utilities
• Operational improvements at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) lowered the risk profile to low from medium as per regulatory agency (AEP).
In addition, realized the reduction of the waste of process water equalling 30m3/day
• Full year of solar contributing direct energy supply to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP)
Challenges:
• Extreme weather events are impacting water supply for outdoor water demands during prolonged hot weather, which also creates stress on
storm water infrastructure during major storms, leading to more flushing and cleaning efforts
• Managing recyclables due to global issues
• Options for managing organics at regional locations are becoming limited
• Coordination of lifecycle replacement and redundancy addition for the Wastewater Treatment Plant while maintaining legislated operational
requirements
• Aligning water management objectives with provincial expectations
137

Funding:
Rates & Fees
 Included in rates and fees bylaw
Levies – none
Property Tax Support - none
Reserve Contribution
$3.730M Capital
$0.076M Operational
 Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP) $5.500M for WWTP
upgrades (recorded in 2020)
One Time Operating Expenses – none
Capital Projects
• Project 14 – Zone 2S‐3S SW Reservoir: $0.150M
• Project 181 – Combine Treatment Unit: $0.500M
• Project 182 – Activated Primary Clarifier: $0.500M
• Project 133 – Storm Water Irrigation: $0.075M
5 Year Historic Utility Rates
Utility Rates Over Time
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Water 76.99 80.20 81.65 83.15 84.65 1.8%
Sewer 93.16 95.80 102.35 104.00 105.81 1.7%
Storm 11.55 12.00 13.00 13.85 14.74 6.42%
Waste 41.00 44.15 44.15 45.92 47.30 3.0%
Total 222.70 232.15 241.15 246.92 252.50 2.26%
Percentage
Change 5.3% 4.24% 3.88% 2.39% 2.26%
138
• Cost per bi‐monthly billing period
• Water and Sewer based on average consumption of 19 m3/month
• Waste based on provision of all services

139
2020 Community
Utility Rate
Comparison
*Bi-Monthly and
based on 38m3 of
water consumption.

Economic Conditions
140

Town of Okotoks is the 5th lowest
(70 of 74) for spending of medium
sized municipalities in Alberta.

Questions?
144

2021 Budget Presentation Dec PPT V1.pdf

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