HALO to seek city funding during budget deliberations

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

By Collin Gallant
Southern Alberta Newspapers

HALO officials presented their 2023 financial report to a City of Medicine Hat committee Sept. 9, but will likely also make their case for continued grant funding from the municipality during budget discussions later this fall.

The helicopter air rescue society was left off a list of proposed program spending during early stage 2025-26 city budget talks, revealed in July.

But, city administrators stating that since council made the decision to add the original $500,000 per year grant in mid-2023, it should be a specific decision to add it again.

HALO Executive Director Paul Carolan ran through the 2023 statements for the public services committee – a requirement of the current grant – but also made a pitch to keep the city in a group of municipalities that cumulatively provides about one-fifth of its $3.4-million annual budget.

“City funding is incredibly important to HALO and to the partnership,” he said, referring to money from Cypress County, the Counties of Newell and Forty Mile and other local governments in southeast Alberta.

“There’s been discussion of jurisdiction, with the province responsible for health. But partnerships (with non-profits) help make publicly funded health-care system work.”

Councillors on the committee were receptive and even supportive in their questions, but said following the meeting a decision on continuing the grant is still to come.

“There’s always a question of funding,” said Coun. Robert Dumanowski.

Budget talks will continue in October to start four committee of the whole meetings before final budget approval in December.

In July, council also asked that staffers return options to bring a tax increase in at either 3, 3.5, or 4 per cent – less that the proposed 5.5 per cent increase that doesn’t include the $500,000 per year HALO grant that would equate to about 0.5 of a percentage point.

In 2023, about 21 per cent of revenue came from municipal grants, behind 27 per cent from Alberta Health Services, 20 per cent from individual donors, 16 per cent from corporate donations and 11 per cent from fundraising.

About 84 per cent of 65 calls were to attend scenes of emergencies and transport patients. About 40 per cent were to locations in Cypress County.

In the 2024 year, HALO has said it has secured 46 per cent of its costs from the province, but revenue and costs do not align as HALO is now adding to a reserve accounts toward purchasing a replacement helicopter, said Carolan.

Of specific note to Medicine Hat, HALO is planning to add a bucket system to help contain wildfires in the region.

That, said Carolan, could be employed in the city using strategic drops of water (collected from the river) to block the potential path of ravine fires from housing and other property.

“We are becoming a diversified organization and we’re proud of that,” he said.