At its regular meeting on Feb. 9, Peace River town council adopted the presented 2026 utility- supported operating budget.
“During the Feb. 2 meeting, council had a chance to look at the utility-supported operating budget and review the content with administration, since then there have been a couple changes,” acting director of corporate services Roxane Guindon said during the meeting.
“In the current draft, total revenue and expenses are $8,923,800. This amount is $14,270 less than the draft presented Feb. 2 due to reductions realized on receipt of the 2026 insurance renewal and revised estimate in power consumption.”
Guindon adds the differences were a result of reduced insurance premiums of $18,180, reduced power projections of $86,360, increase in transfer to capital reserves by $90,270, and removal of $14,270 transfer from operating reserve to water fund.
She went on to add that included in expenses is $2,331,500 in amortization expense and transfer to reserves of $997,490.
“In preparation of this document we attempted to keep utility rates competitive, mitigate negative future budget changes, maintain existing service level standards, and include funding for the current year capital plan,” says Guindon.
Utility funds are self-liquidating so that they can support current and future needs to reduce the risk of infrastructure failure.
Anticipated utility reserve balances at the end of 2026 are expected to be $4,164,441 in the water reserve, $887,348 in wastewater, storm sewer $548,626, and $344,096 in solid waste.
A complete breakdown of the utility budget can be found at peaceriver.civicweb.net.
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter