ATHABASCA — Athabasca County councillors have added an increase to the municipality’s yearly donation to STARS to the upcoming budget deliberations for 2024.
During their Aug. 22 meeting, councillors voted 9-0 to increase the budgeted funding for the air ambulance service, a motion that, if approved, will see county pledge an additional $6,000 yearly to STARS.
STARS senior municipal relations liason Glenda Farnden was in front of council at its July 27 meeting, stating that an annual contribution of $2 per capita would bring the county in line with a majority of municipal donors.
If approved during the 2024 budget review and discussions between November and December, the $2 per capita increase translates to an additional $5,730 on top of the current allocation of $10,000 per year. An additional motion to round the donation up to the nearest thousand also passed unanimously, which would bring the potential new contribution to an even $16,000.
County reeve Brian Hall said supporting emergency services is important for rural municipalities.
“Based on where we live, we can’t have all the same services readily available to us as folks in the city,” said Hall in an Aug. 25 interview. “Reliable air ambulance service brings those critical care facilities closer to our residents and protects lives.”
During the discussion, Coun. Ashtin Anderson noted a change to the budget’s presentation would serve to better inform ratepayers of the range of emergency services prioritized by the municipality.
Anderson said including budget allocations for fire departments, healthcare recruiting and retention, county peace officers, Highway 63 rescue services, STARS, and healthcare housing contributions should all be featured together — the motion to amend the layout was passed 9-0.
“All of those items encompass monies we budget towards the protection of people and property in our community,” said Anderson during the meeting. “We are investing quite heavily in the protection of our community.”
