Council passes 2026 muncipal budget

Crowsnest Pass council approved its 2026 operating and capital budgets at a special meeting on December 4 after a wide-ranging discussion about reserves, recreation projects, roads, water infrastructure and the long term move to water meters.

Councillors also revisited several big-ticket capital items, including the Gazebo Park and streetscape project, Bellevue watermain looping, and future water meter installation, while confirming that the community skate park remains fully funded from the recreation facility reserve.

Council recommendations were approved as follows:

2026 GRANTS AND DONATIONS TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

General Operating Grants – $614,710

STARS Air Ambulance – $13,000

Crowsnest Pass Municipal Library – $176,710

Crowsnest Pass Senior Housing – $425,000

Category 1 Operating Grants – 246,600

Blairmore Lions Club – $1,500

Crow Snow Riders Association – $16,000

Crowsnest Cultural and Recreation Society - CANDO (Roxy Theatre) – $25,000

Crowsnest Pass Allied Arts Association – $27,000

Crowsnest Pass Ecomuseum Trust / Bellevue Underground Mine – $26,000

Crowsnest Pass Golf Club – $0

Crowsnest Pass Historical Society / Museum and Archives – $26,000

Crowsnest Pass Quad Squad – $5,000

Crowsnest Nordic Ski Club – $47,100

Pass Powderkeg Ski Society – $1,000

Peaks to Pines Residents Association – $26,000

Southwest Alberta Regional Search and Rescue – $46,000

Category 2 Event Grants – $96,500

Bellecrest Community Association – $8,500

Coleman Community Society – $8,500

CNP 40 / Amazing Teen Race – $8,000

CNP Chamber of Commerce (Crowfest) – $20,000

CNP Chamber of Commerce (Christmas in the Mountains) – $5,000

Crowsnest Consolidated High School – Graduations Ceremonies (Grant
  provided with the graduating class providing a one-day clean up in the
     community) – $4,000

Crowsnest Economic Development (Crowsnest Pass Heritage Festival) – $7,000

Crowsnest Pass Agricultural Society (Pole and Spur) – $1,000

Crowsnest Pass Dance Festival Society – Annual Dance Gala – $1,500

Crowsnest Pass Music Festival Association - Adjudicator fees, moving fees, and
     replacing festival banners – $1,000

Kananaskis Pro Rodeo Association – $30,000

Sole Survivor Trail Race – $2,000

Category 3 Funding - $5,000

High School Scholarship - $1,000

Other funding allocations - $4,000

Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) - $ 94,000

Bellecrest/Coleman Senior Centres - $ 4,000 

BRAT Pack - $ 2,000 

CNP 40 Youth - $ 21,000 

Crowsnest Pass Stay & Play - $ 2,000 

Family Resource Centre - $ 28,000 

Horace Allen Early Learning Program - $15,000 

Kids Kollege - $ 22,000

2026 INITIATIVES – $ 3,177,000

2025 INITIATIVES CARRIED FORWARD

Fire Fighting Training Structure - $300,000

Transportation Master Plan - $250,000

NIT Play Structure - $160,000

2026 COUNCIL INITIATIVES

Potholes - $250,000

Reuse Rendezvous - $1,000

Skateboard Park – $1,000,000

2026 DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES

Ice plant mechanical upgrades – $26,000

Outdoor pickleball courts – $173,000

Sportsplex - Replace Six Interior Doors - $25,000

Sportsplex - Water Heater and Storage Tank - $60,000

Increased Monitoring of Nuisance Grounds - $5,000

New financial software – $100,000

Water mains and services leak detection – $25,000

Manhole grouting infiltration and inflow prevention – $15,000

Sanitary System - CIPP Lining Increase – $100,000

Nuisance Grounds - Detailed Phase II ESAs - $375,000

Fire Training Complex Improvements - $30,000

Big Bounce event – $12,000

Pass Powderkeg Rental Equipment Replacement - $40,000

Water and wastewater operators - gas monitors – $10,000

Asphalt Maintenance - Hot-Patch Equipment - $125,000

Guard rail - cable and conventional – $50,000

Blairmore Pump House Control and Communication Upgrade - $45,000

2026 CAPITAL PROJECTS SUMMARY – $11,218,000

UPGRADE / REPLACE EXISTING ASSETS

Fleet replacement - $2,685,000

Deep Infrastructure Replacement $325,000

Road Rehabilitation $1,000,000

Office Upgrades $4,500,000

ENHANCEMENTS

Outdoor Skateboard Park $1,000,000

NEW INITIATIVES

Gazebo Park Beautification - Construction $1,000,000

Fire Fighting Training Structure $300,000

NIT Play Structure $160,000

Outdoor Pickleball Courts $173,000

Fire Training Complex Improvements $30,000 

Blairmore Pump House Control and Communication Upgrade $45,000

PROJECT FUNDING

Grant - CCBF (Federal Funding) $1,000,000

Grant - LGFF Capital (Provincial Funding) $1,710,000

Long-term Financing (Debt / Loan) $4,000,000

Reserve - Recreation Facility $1,173,000

Reserve - Water $370,000

Reserve - Fleet $125,000

Reserve - Land $1,000,000

Reserve - Green Spaces $160,000

Reserve - Mill Rate Stabilization (Reserves) $1,680,000

The final part of the meeting focused on amendments and formal approval of the budget. An amendment was brought forward regarding funding for the broadcasting of council meetings which discussion determined was not viable until moving to the new building. The motion was defeated, with only Mayor Pat Rypien and Councillor Doreen Johnson voting in favour.

Later, Rypien made a motion to reduce the municipal contribution to the skate park from one million dollars to five hundred thousand dollars and require the remaining funding to come from grants and fundraising. During the discussion, Councillor Doreen Glavin restated that the recreation reserve was created for recreation projects and said the skate park group had already done significant grant work to reach the current plan.

When the question was called, the motion to cut skate park funding was defeated, with Councillor Tony Vastenhout the only member to vote in favour of the reduction. The full one-million-dollar allocation for the skate park remains in the 2026 capital plan.

Councillor Dean Ward then moved to approve the 2026 operating budget along with the 2027 and 2028 operating projections. Council voted in favour.

Two more motions followed on the capital side. Glavin moved approval of the amended 2026 capital budget, which passed, and Ward moved approval of the 2027 capital budget, which also carried.

With those votes, council locked in the 2026 financial plan and the next two years of capital forecasting, setting up a year that will see significant work on roads, utilities and recreation.

All initiatives originating from the previous council were approved as part of the 2026 financial plan. According to the Municipality’s budget highlights, the plan maintains essential service levels, provides 1.1 million dollars in support to community groups, allocates 3.2 million dollars for 23 new initiatives and earmarks 11.2 million dollars for critical capital projects. The budget includes a responsible municipal property tax rate increase of just 0.26 percent and an 11 percent rise in utility rates. The full tax impact for property owners will not be known until the Alberta School Foundation Fund requisition and the 2025 assessment increases are finalized early in 2026.