Medicine Hat Minute: Merry Christmas, HALO Funding, and Tax Increase Approved

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

This Week In Medicine Hat:

• It’s Christmas on Wednesday. Thank you to every single one of our readers and supporters who reached out, donated, volunteered, or shared our content this year. We appreciate every single one of you and hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with friends and family. Merry Christmas!
  
  
• We don’t often use these weekly emails to explicitly ask for support, but we’re in the middle of our year-end fundraiser, and we’ve set a goal to raise $5,000 by December 31st. This is a critical time for non-profits, and reaching our goal will ensure we can continue the important work we do. If you value what we bring to the table and want to see us keep going, please consider making a donation today. Every bit helps, and we’re deeply grateful for your support. You can contribute by clicking here. Thank you!
  
  
• There are no Council or Committee meetings this week. Regularly scheduled meetings will resume on January 6th.

Last Week In Medicine Hat:

• Council approved a two-year budget with a 5.6% property tax increase in each of 2025 and 2026 to maintain services amid high inflation and expected declines in power reserves. The budget passed 6-3, with Mayor Linnsie Clark and Councillors Andy McGrogan and Shila Sharps voting against it due to concerns about missing information. An amended version of the budget excluded a $9.5-million food waste compost facility and a $500,000 funding request for HALO Air Ambulance. McGrogan’s motion to reduce the tax increase by 1.7% was also voted down during the meeting.
  
  
• Speaking of HALO Air Ambulance, CEO Paul Carolan expressed disappointment after Council decided not to include a $500,000 funding request for the organization in the 2025-26 budget. Despite strong community support for HALO, only two Councillors voted to approve the funding. Council members instead emphasized the need for a formal framework to handle such funding requests, with HALO agreeing to apply once a process is established. Carolan stressed that HALO’s role as a life-saving emergency service should not be treated like a traditional nonprofit.
  
  
• The City of Medicine Hat has officially applied to Alberta’s regulator for approval to build a new southwest substation to meet growing electrical demand in the area. The application, submitted to the Alberta Utilities Commission, also includes a request for a new transmission line. Two potential sites for the substation near Gershaw Drive Southwest have been identified, with the City preferring one location north of Saamis Prairie View Cemetery. The project is expected to begin construction in 2026, with the goal of having the substation operational the same year.

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