Following a review of Lethbridge and District Exhibition on Tuesday, city administrators are recommending council increase taxes for next year by over seven per cent.
Following a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Lethbridge and Lethbridge and District Exhibition earlier this year, the city assumed governance of the struggling organization.
Another key component of the MOU was a third-party review of LDE. The findings of the review were presented to council Tuesday morning, with the mayor of Lethbridge, Blaine Hyggen, expressing frustration.
“”This is extremely — and I’ll say extremely — concerning, given this was primarily a tax-payer funded project,” said Hyggen on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, city administration made recommendations to the City of Lethbridge Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee on how to solve the crisis.
Two primary options were presented to the committee, which can then be passed onto council for consideration next month.
Get weekly money news
Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
The first option was to lock the doors and shut down the new Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre. However, city administration recommends their other option — keeping the facility operational. Both choices lead to an additional $4.1 million in expenses for the city in 2025.
With the latter option, administration recommends council increase taxes by 7.34 per cent next year. This is 2.24 per cent higher than the previously approved tax increase for 2025.
“Going from the current year, 2024 tax rate, to the 2025 tax rate, is an additional roughly $130 on that average home. Then you add on this additional 2.24 per cent tax and that’s an additional $60 on top of that, coming to $190,” said Darrell Mathews, CFO for the City of Lethbridge on Wednesday morning after he presented the city recommendations.
While the two options were to lock it up or keep it going, Mathews says there was no conversation about selling the Agri-Food Hub.
“One of the things that’s in the terms and conditions of the grant funding from the province, is that the Lethbridge and District Exhibition has to maintain that facility until at least 2027.”
While he says a tax increase is not what the city wants, it’s the cards that have been dealt.
“Administration is providing council with the best recommendation, with where we are at today, with the unfortunate situation we’re facing.”
With $4.1 million requiring attention in 2025, future councils will need to consider another $32.1 million in unfunded LDE capital projects, according to the city.
Lethbridge city council still needs to approve the tax increase, which is set to come to council on Dec. 10.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Read the full article here
