Council Highlights: April 7, 2026

Council met for a Governance and Priorities meeting on Tuesday, April 7.
 
Here are some highlights:
 
➡ Representatives from the Rural Development Network presented the Enabling Housing Choice North Project final report to Council. You can view it in the agenda package.
 
➡ Two organizations presented for Council Grants to Organizations, and another three sought funding but were not present in person. Organizations applying for grants include the Peace River Curling Club, seeking $30,000 for an ice mat replacement project; Peace River Rotaract, seeking $10,300 and in-kind staff time to support the 2026 River Days event; Alberta Pond Hockey, seeking $5,000 for the Alberta Pond Hockey Championships; Royal Canadian Legion Branch no. 62, seeking $5,000 for floor renewal; and the underground Music Society, seeking $1,800 for underground Music Society Presents.
 
➡ Council discussed the Taxi Pass Program, which is a heavily subsidized, income-based program that helps low-income residents in Peace River afford taxi transportation, with users paying $30 for $100 in fare (70% subsidy). The Town has been gradually reducing the subsidy over time to improve financial sustainability and bring it in line with similar programs in other jurisdictions. The Town has received a request to expand eligibility to individuals who are legally blind, even if they don’t meet income thresholds. However, Administration flagged that this could fundamentally shift the program away from its income-based model and create concerns around precedence and condition-based requests. Council directed Administration to maintain the Taxi Pass Program as an income-based program with no changes to eligibility at this time, and to look into separate programs that might address concerns raised.
 
➡ Barb Miller, Chief Administrative Officer, reported to Council that the Town will be saving about $29,280 per year in electricity costs thanks to identifying dozens of street lights that were not operating. Administration validated streetlight data in our GIS mapping system against monthly billing data, finding that several streetlights being charged for could not be matched. As a result of this internally driven audit confirming pole numbers and locations, it was confirmed that there were dozens of streetlights being billed for that did not exist, dropping the total from 1,100 in ATCO's 2024 report to 1,039 in their 2025 report. This can happen when a streetlight is decommissioned by operations but not updated in ATCO’s system for billing purposes, or simple administrative oversight when conducting date entry. The reduction in number of streetlights being charged for represents a saving on electricity costs going forward.
 
➡ Council continued to review the 2026 Tax-Supported Operating Budget. The Town divides its operating budget between tax-supported and utility-supported streams in an effort to best represent costs. The draft shows a municipal requisition target of 2.5% increase from the prior year's actual revenue. You can see the entire breakdown in the agenda package.
 
There's always more.
 
The next regular Council meeting is Monday, April 13, 2026.