The RM of Ritchot presented their new budget on Wednesday, April 15, with council voting unanimously to accept it. The financial plan proposes slightly increased spending while maintaining last year’s property tax mill rate.
CAO Shane Ray opened the meeting with some stats. Based on the most recent data, the RM’s population comes in just shy of 10,000. The municipality includes about 2,700 private dwellings on 322 square kilometres of land.
“The preparation of the corporate budget is one of the most critical initiatives undertaken by administration,” said Ritchot CFO Muhammed Zaman. “It acts as a fiscal plan that provides the resources required to make progress toward achieving community [direction] and council priorities.”
Preparing for any new budget begins early in the year as the various municipal departments are invited to make their financial needs known. From there, the CAO and CFO outline the budget details and present them to council for feedback.
Then the municipality tax levy can be established.
In 2026, the tax assessment value of properties in the RM comes to $950 million, up 2.8 percent from last year.
In order to determine the amount of property taxes required, administrators must predict the revenue that will be collected through other sources, such as government grants, permit fees, and rental income.
This year, council estimates this potential revenue at almost $9 million, making up 40 percent of their required revenue.
Another 23 percent of this year’s revenue will come from RM reserve funds, some of which are acquired from the RM’s share of the landfill.
The balance, which comes to 37 percent, must be made up through local taxation. This amounts to $6.4 million, which is $200,000 more than last year.
Since 2025 resulted in higher property assessments overall, council determined that last year’s mill rate of 7.95 could be maintained in 2026.
Operating expenditures for 2026 are budgeted at $22 million, 14 percent higher than last year. This includes the costs of running a municipal government, equipment to maintain infrastructure, protective services, daycare operations, economic development, and recreation and cultural programming.
Council anticipates some new expenses this year as a result of the municipal election. As well, upgrades are needed in public works transportation and equipment, as well as arenas and recreation facilities.
Capital projects planned for this year will cost the RM almost $11 million, much of which is anticipated to come from government grants.
These projects include stucco replacement and outdoor electrical installation at the St. Adolphe daycare, the construction of a fire hall in Île-des-Chênes along with new equipment, a new landfill site, and a variety of improvements to many of the RM’s parks.
In terms of utilities, the water treatment plant will be upgraded and a new well site study performed.
When all is said and done, the 2026 budget leaves a reserve fund of just over $5 million.
At the end of the budget presentation, Mayor Chris Ewen provided some closing remarks.
“We continue to see a hold on the mill rate, which is always a positive for the taxpayers,” Ewen said. “Still, we’re seeing overall improvements and business development continue to happen. Recreation is one of the strong contenders in the RM of Ritchot as well as continued growth, without having to push those taxes further and further like we’re seeing other municipalities have to do.”
Ewen also spoke about council’s justification for maintaining the property tax mill rate even in years of increased assessment values.
“I don’t think we should ever see a lowering of the mill rate,” he said. “That’s never a good thing. You don’t see your groceries ever go down… I think the same should apply for the mill rate. We just take advantage of the assessment value going up and implement that for a positive outcome.”