2027 BUDGET ENGAGEMENT

Help Shape the Future of Woodlands County!

Woodlands County is beginning the 2027 budget planning process, and your input matters.

The County’s budget determines how resources are allocated to essential services and infrastructure, including roads, public safety, recreation, and community programs. Each decision requires balancing priorities, and community feedback plays a key role in that process.

Why Your Input Matters

Developing a municipal budget involves making informed choices. Investing more in one area may mean reducing or delaying investment in another. Your feedback helps Administration and Council understand community priorities and ensures that decisions reflect the needs of residents.

How to Participate

Woodlands County is offering a hybrid engagement process to make participation easy and accessible.

     Online

• Complete the BUDGET SURVEY by June 30, 2026: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7KWGCPF
  (All responses are confidential and reported only as aggregated results.)
  
  
• Read more about the budget process, access budget information, and FAQs

    
     In Person - Stay tuned for more dates and information on in-person events

• Attend community pop-up sessions
• Join a come-and-go open house

   
     In the Community

• County office reception: Pick up a postcard at the front reception desks in Whitecourt and Fort Assiniboine County offices with the survey web address and a QR code you can scan to access the survey instantly.
• Local newspapers: Look for notices in The Whitecourt Press and The Barrhead Leader, with the survey web address and a QR code you can scan to access the survey instantly.

What We’re Asking

We want to hear your thoughts on:

• Service priorities
• Infrastructure and roads
• Recreation and community services
• Public safety
• Economic development
• Affordability and taxation

Key Dates
For more information, see the Budget Process Wheel below

• May 2026: Engagement launch
• June 30, 2026: Survey closes
• June 2026: “What We Heard Report” shared

How Your Feedback Will Be Used

Your input will:

• Inform the development of the draft 2027 budget
• Be summarized in a public “What We Heard Report” presented to Council
• Help guide Council’s budget deliberations

Stay Connected

Visit this page regularly for updates and new information.
Follow our facebook page for updates and participation opportunities.

Have Your Say

Your voice matters. Help shape the future of Woodlands County by participating in the 2027 Budget Engagement.

MORE ON THE BUDGET PROCESS 

Each year, Woodlands County Council adopts a budget to guide priorities and investments across the community. The budget is developed in alignment with Council’s Strategic Plan, including its five strategic pillars: Financial Strength, Infrastructure, Collaboration, Organizational Excellence, and Strategic Economic and Social Development.

Woodlands County’s budget process is guided by ongoing public engagement throughout the year. The budget process is cyclical and designed to ensure public engagement remains a key part of planning and decision-making throughout the year.

The process begins with listening to residents and identifying community needs through budget surveys, open houses, Council meetings, emails and phone calls, and the Service Request Tracker. Resident feedback helps the County understand priorities and areas of concern.

County departments then analyze the feedback and begin planning for the following year. Residents often identify priorities such as managing growth responsibly, planning for long-term sustainability, and keeping services affordable. These priorities help guide investments in community master plans, essential road infrastructure, and the services residents rely on every day.

Using this information, staff build and present a draft budget based on community priorities and available funding. Decision-making is guided by several factors, including community priorities, core services, long-term needs, financial sustainability through the fiscal framework, and available funding.

Council then reviews the proposed draft budget and approves an interim budget. Following this review period, the County once again gathers resident feedback on the interim budget to ensure it aligns with community priorities and expectations.

Finally, based on resident feedback and Council review, Council approves the final budget. 

2026 BUDGET

2026 Final Budget coming soon....

2026 Interim Operating & Capital Budget
2026 Interim Budget Feedback Survey Results

Previous annual Woodlands County budgets: