October 13, 2026, Council Highlights
Meeting Date: September 22, 2026
These highlights provide the community with a brief overview of the most significant information shared and decisions made during the recent Wetaskiwin City Council meeting. To access full Council meeting agendas, minutes, and livestreams, please visit Wetaskiwin.civicweb.net/portal.
Committee of the Whole: For Information & Discussion
Delegations: 2027 Outside Agencies Budgets
The following outside agencies appeared as delegations to present their 2027 budget presentations for Council’s consideration during budget deliberations:
Agenda Review allows Council to review, ask questions, and finalize agenda items for the upcoming Regular City Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.
Reserve Policy CO-013 establishes reserve accounts and approved monetary transfers through the budget process as a tool to provide property tax stabilization, contingency funding, and reduce the need for external debt financing. Administration presented updates for Council’s consideration that would allocate funds to the Community Safety Reserve, allow an annual increase to the infrastructure reserve contribution, and allocate specific amounts to utility funded reserves.
Administration proposed an update to Budget Accountability Policy CO-012 that updates the scoring criteria used to prioritize programs and services and proposed capital and operating projects to better complement Council’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029.
Administration presented Council with the Budget Engagement Report, which summarizes the feedback received from 2027 budget engagement opportunities provided to the community so far. Additional opportunities will be provided in November. More information can be found at whatifwetaskiwin.ca/2027-budget.
The municipal capital budget approves funding for infrastructure repair, maintenance, and replacement projects and growth initiatives, ensuring adequate resources are available for roads, sidewalks, and municipal facilities. Administration is proposing ten capital charters totaling $6,759,000 to be funded by a combination of grants, reserves, and property taxes (or debt). Administration will bring the proposed 2027 Capital Budget to the November 10 Regular Council Meeting for approval.
Administration presented a six-month progress report on two-year Peace Officer position, whose duties are comprised of a 50/50 split between traffic (Enforcement Services) and bylaw compliance (Planning and Development). In six months, the position has exceeded, or is on track to exceed, all annual goals and service level expectations, such as issuing 407 traffic tickets totaling $115,179 in fines issued with $66,976 collected, over $21,000 above the projected $45,000. Additionally, business licence arrears have been reduced by $25,060, and 11 of 26 legacy files have been completed.
Enforcement Services presented the mid-year report to Council, which provided an overview of the changes and statistics from January 1 to June 30, 2026, compared with the same time period in 2025. The key report highlights include:
- Hiring a new Community Peace Officer and a Traffic/Compliance Officer (term).
- A 30 per cent increase in proactive patrols (from 2044 to 2662).
- A 5 per cent decrease in observance reports (from 1062 to 1006).
- A 21 per cent increase in officer observed reports (268 to 325).
- 17 community engagement events against a goal of 2.
- 332 patrols in hotspot areas (compared to 435), and 536 proactive patrols to businesses and officer-initiated interactions (compared to 195).
- 10 Municipal Government Order Clean-ups (compared to 4).
- 269 Community Standard Files (down from 310) and 94 Nuisance or Unsightly Files (down from 131).
- Issued 710 tickets (compared to 349) and 254 warnings (compared to 232).
Council Addition to the Agenda: Committee Commitments
Councillor Nielson added and spoke to the item titled “Committee Commitments.”
Regular Council Meeting
Council moved to increase the 2027 electrical franchise fee with Fortis to 20 per cent. Unlike property taxes, franchise fees are spread over a larger tax base as schools, provincial buildings, federal buildings, hospitals, and churches are exempt from property taxation, but must pay for electricity.
Following a public hearing, Council approved Bylaw 2115-26 to amend Land Use Bylaw 1804-13 to add Health Service to M2 Heavy Industrial District. The application was submitted in recognition that the applicant is currently operating an existing Health Service use on a site located in the M2 district.
Addition: Waste - Additional Funding Request
The 2026 Waste Collection Contracted Services budget is projected to face a shortfall due to increased organic waste collection costs and additional hauling expenses after the City’s roll-off truck failed commercial vehicle inspection and was removed from service. Council approved a transfer of up to $130,350 from the Waste Reserve to ensure continued collection and recyclable hauling services through 2026.
Council Governance Session
Council directed Administration to explore options to retain a consultant to facilitate a Council governance session and report back to the October 27 Regular Council Meeting.
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