Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

Tax notices have gone out and are due at the end of July. Please contact the County Office if you have not received notices that you are expecting, or should you have questions about your property assessment that need to be brought to the attention of the County’s assessor.

If you are interested in deep diving on County financial information, our Corporate Services team does an excellent job preparing  award winning reports that are available on the website: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/ (As mentioned previously, Vulcan County has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association International for the quality of its reporting.). Select the second button from the left, “Financial Reporting”, at the bottom of the Home Page. That will take you to three interactive dashboards: Financial Reporting, Performance Measures, and 2025 Annual Financial. Scrolling down the same page, you will come to the 2026 budget for operations and capital expenditures. There is historical information, as well as insight into the budgeting process. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

There were two meetings of Council in April and one meeting of the Budget Committee. Between regular council business and a public hearing for a land use bylaw rezoning application, April 1^st ended up being a lengthy day. Council undertook some administrative updates to the Linear Tax Stability bylaw, as well as providing a letter of support for the Marquis Foundation seniors housing project. While the former provides predictable levels of taxation for large linear assets, the latter is necessary for funding agreements with the Province of Alberta and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to move towards construction of a new seniors lodge. Also at this meeting, Council adopted a Shotgun Policy to enable Community Peace Officers to have a humane way to dispatch animals should it not be possible to get a wildlife officer on scene when needed. Council chose not to extend this authority to agricultural fieldman at this time.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

There was one council meeting in March where we dealt with three bylaws. Council gave First Reading to Bylaw 2026-007 to rezone lands proposed for the development of a data centre. Being a Land Use Bylaw amendment, this type of bylaw requires a Public Hearing to be held prior to Second and Third Reading. A Public Hearing is scheduled for April 1^st so please check out the County’s website for more information on the proposal. Your input is welcome.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

The District 20 (Champion) Fire Protection Association met on February 19^th for the first time this year. The Association is hoping to do three community bingos this year so please watch the Champion Chronicle and social media for notices of these events.

Also discussed at this meeting were the governance policies for the association, as well as the memorandum of understanding that sets the association apart from the District 20 fire department of Vulcan County. While the association is established to raise public awareness and fundraise for local emergency services, the regional fire department is the sole service provider.

Finally, the association is working on a path forward for its building project initiative, one that will see the eventual construction of an annex east of the fire hall for additional secure storage of equipment. Last year, the association was unsuccessful in applying for a Community Facility Enhancement Program grant, proposing a facility that would support not only the fire department but other community groups who require secure storage for equipment. Volunteers are now working with Vulcan County personnel on how to best phase and develop this project while pursuing alternative funding opportunities. I am working to facilitate these conversations. The tremendous support of the Champion Community and region for the activities of the fire association is greatly appreciated. As such, I will do my best to provide regular updates on this building project.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

January has certainly been a busy month, despite there being only one regular meeting of council. Hopefully 2026 is off to a good start for all of you.

In December of 2025, I was re-elected as the Chair of the Board for the Oldman River Regional Services Commission (ORRSC). This has been a time of significant change for the Commission as our new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Tracy Thomas, officially commenced work on January 12^th. As such, the Executive Committee has set out mutually agreeable goals and objectives for her first year with the Commission. Fortunately, retiring CAO, Lenze Kuiper, has been facilitating a transition for the remainder of January. The two of them have been busy reviewing files and visiting member-municipalities. I joined them in Bassano on January 26^th for a discussion with the Town Council on the budgetary direction that has been implemented, as well as the operating plan that was approved by the Board of Directors in December. Member-municipalities, of which there are 41, are the shareholders of the Commission, having an ownership stake in its future. The Commission is a non-profit corporate entity that reports directly to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, realizing significant cost-savings and the benefits of regional collaboration for members.