Redcliff Council highlights: April 27 meeting recap

Posted on May 7, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The Town of Redcliff’s Council meeting on April 27, 2026, was packed with updates, decisions, and exciting plans for the community. Here are the key highlights:

Tracy Laturnus, Library Manager of the Redcliff Public Library, presented the 2025 Annual Report titled Looking Back, Moving Forward. The library celebrated several milestones, including receiving a $5,000 Public Library Grant for Skill Development in Rural Alberta. The funds were used to purchase nine Chromebooks and a charging cart, enabling digital literacy classes and other programs.

The library’s partnership with the All Nations Optimist Club and the Friends of the Redcliff Library Society brought the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program to 71 local children under 5, with plans to expand to 10 more children in 2026. This program provides free monthly books to encourage early literacy, with studies showing significant benefits for participating children.

In 2025, the library also achieved a major goal with 10,000 checkouts on the Libby app, contributing to a total of 37,804 checkouts for the year.

Following the delegations, the April 13 meeting minutes were adopted. These were among the items carried:

• Blessing of the Bikes: Approval was granted for a temporary road closure on 4th Avenue SE for the Gordon Memorial United Church’s Blessing of the Bikes service on May 3, 2026. Barricades will be provided to facilitate the event.

• Regional Collaboration: The Council supported a two-day Tri-Area regional workshop with a $7,500 contribution to foster intermunicipal collaboration.

• Christmas Decorations: Administration was directed to replace aging Christmas decorations, allocating $9,000 from the purchasing reserve.

• Legion Pitch-In Week: A one-time exemption was approved for the Redcliff Legion Branch #6 to dispose of up to six truckloads of chargeable materials during Pitch-In Week.

• Zamboni Repairs: Up to $30,000 was allocated for repairs to the Zamboni to address deficiencies.

• Water Treatment Plant Heaters: Council approved $25,000 for the replacement of two overhead unit heaters at the Water Treatment Plant, funded from the water system reserve.

• Home Cleaning Services: A new contract was authorized with Quality Custom Cleaning for home cleaning services.

• Redcliff Days Road Closures: Temporary road closures were approved for Redcliff Days 2026, ensuring smooth operations for the community celebration.

• Economic Development: Council endorsed an agreement with Southeast Alberta Municipalities to pool funds for regional economic development projects.

The meeting moved to new business and the 2026 Final Operating Budget, which totals $22,470,503 and features $19,075,976 in funded expenditures, was presented for consideration.

To balance this budget, the Town implemented a 2.34 per cent increase in municipal property tax revenues and a 9.92 per cent increase in the provincial school requisition compared to last year. For the average residential property, this adjustment translates to an annual increase of about $37 for municipal taxes and $76 for school taxes. Meanwhile, average non-residential properties will see their municipal taxes go up by $118 per year, with their school taxes rising by roughly $225 annually.