Airdronians continue to receive services at a low cost from the City, according to the 2010 Financial Indicators report from Alberta Municipal Affairs.
The report shows that Airdrie has the lowest taxes and expenses per capita compared to other mid-size cities in Alberta for at least 10 years.
“This information is very good news for Airdrie taxpayers,” said Jana Jaeger, director of Corporate Services.
“These benchmarks provide verifiable third-party indicators that Airdrie delivers quality service at much lower than average cost. Airdrie is proving itself as a fiscal leader over and over again.”
City Manager Paul Schulz said along with the Citizen Satisfaction Survey, the report is the best measuring stick to ensure the City is doing things efficiently and meeting the needs of residents.
In Airdrie, property taxes are 31 per cent lower than the five comparable municipalities of Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, St. Albert and Grande Prairie. Sales and user charges are 42 per cent lower than the others.
The population of the municipalities ranges from 39,800 to 90,000. Although Airdrie is the smallest city in the grouping now, until 2006 Airdrie was grouped with municipalities that were all smaller, and results were similar.
Airdrie is the fastest growing city in the group with 4.54 per cent growth in 2010. St. Albert is next at 2.80 per cent and Lethbridge’s growth is at 1.37 per cent.
“In spite of continued growth pressures and significant capital projects undertaken in recent years, Airdrie’s debt per capita is 31 per cent less than the group’s,” said Jaeger.
“However, the 2010 over 2009 increase for Airdrie was 21 per cent, a significant jump from prior years. This is due to a number of significant debt-financed capital projects for the community that came on stream in 2010. There is some caution that goes along with this good news story. Although we are looking very good now, we need to make sure it is sustainable for the long-term.”
Alderman Glenda Alexander agreed.
“This is my eighth year on council and there is a reason we are doing so well. It is because of our dedicated staff, so thank you,” she said.
“Although everyone wants to see this trend continue and keep taxes low, I have a concern that we are falling behind on some projects and we will have to take a closer look at that when the budget comes out.”
Airdrie’s personnel costs per capita remain the lowest in the group. Jaeger attributed this to a combination of a strong corporate culture, a predominantly non-unionized environment that allows broad job scope and flexibility and contracting out some services that other larger cities may deliver using their own staff.
Garbage collection, legal advisors and transit are examples of services that Airdrie contracts instead of using in-house staff. Jaeger said if Airdrie is contracting services that other cities deliver with staff, expenses would be expected to be higher than the group, but Airdrie’s are about half of the group’s median.
Materials, goods, supplies and utilities’ costs are holding a relatively flat trend line. Locking-in some utility costs through contracts was a beneficial decision, she added.
For a copy of the full report, visit www.airdrie.ca
