Neat to Know: March 5, 2026 | City of Medicine Hat

Mar 05, 2026

Your weekly roundup of City news, updates, and other important information.

Introducing... the inaugural Cultural Forum!

We’re proud to announce the inaugural Cultural Forum, held Monday, March 23 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre. The free forum is inspired by the Arts, Heritage and Entertainment Plan, and its vision for a vibrant, connected, and collaborative cultural community.

Registration opens to the public tomorrow (Friday, March 6). Artists, organizations, businesses, and community members who are passionate about arts, heritage, and entertainment are welcomed to attend and be part of the ongoing conversation.

Read our news release to learn more about the Cultural Forum, including how you can register.

New festival and event application process

We’ve introduced a new and festival and event application process beginning in 2026, developed directly from feedback provided by event organizers. The new process is designed to make planning and hosting new and returning events easier, clearer, and more efficient for organizers.

Our new festival and event application process includes the following three key improvements which provide a more coordinated, transparent, and supportive approach:

A more streamlined experience
Improved communication and transparency
Dedicated event liaisons

Read our news release to learn about these improvements, the benefits they’ll provide to event organizers, and more.

Campaign disclosure statements posted on City website

Campaign disclosure statements from the 2025 Municipal Election have now been posted to the City of Medicine Hat website.

Campaign disclosure records include a list of campaign contributions such as revenues, donations and expenses. That requirement is in force for all candidates, even those that self-funded their campaigns.

Municipal Election candidates are required by legislation to file their statements with the City Clerks office by March 1, 2026. Because March 1 fell on a Sunday, candidates had until end of business day Monday, March 2, 2026 to submit their statements.

These statements can be found on the City’s website at medicinehat.ca/disclosure-statements.

Public and Separate (Catholic) School Board candidates are required to file their statements with the Secretary-Treasurer of the School Board in which they ran. These statements may be accessed by contacting the appropriate School Board office.

Proper battery recycling

Properly recycling your batteries (and not throwing them in the garbage) is an important step that reduces the chance of a fire and keeps us all safe.

Our teams in Fire and Emergency Services and Environmental Utilities made a great information video which shares how and where to recycle your batteries, and the effects of improper disposal.

View the video

Daylight Saving Time begins

Don’t forget, daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 8!

Clocks are springing forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, bringing an extra hour of daylight in the evenings.

Who doesn’t love more evening daylight to get out and enjoy all the scenic views in our community!

March 2, 2026 City Council Meeting

At the March 2, 2026 City Council meeting, members celebrated community achievement, advanced local safety initiatives, and reviewed major recreational progress. Council approved the 2026 Sports Wall of Fame inductees: Rob Grisonich, Wade Petersen, and Wes King-Hunter, honouring their contributions across volleyball, basketball, and boxing.

Council also approved the Downtown Enhancement and Safety Grant, providing $70,000 in funding for crime‑prevention improvements to commercial properties and an additional $30,000 toward enhanced downtown cleanliness.

The State of Parks and Recreation – 2025 Community Report highlighted key accomplishments, including the planting of 2,400 trees, a new parks bylaw, streamlined event processes, and the Rec ’n Ride program that expanded accessible youth recreation.

Read the highlights | Watch the meeting

Provincial Education Tax

In 2026, the Government of Alberta is increasing its share of your property tax bill by 8.7%, on the heels of an 11.7% increase last year.

The City of Medicine Hat has a legal obligation to collect the education requisition from you through property taxes, but that money is then transferred to the province. So, while there is increasing pressure for municipalities to reduce local property taxes, this portion that is out of the City’s control, continues to rise. Here’s how it affects Hatters:

2025

In 2025, Medicine Hat's portion of the education requisition was $29,929,073 (an increase of $3,133,100 or 11.7% over 2024). This represented an additional $83 per year in property taxes for a median assessed home of $334,400 in 2025.

2026

The 2026 provincial budget requires $32,520,764 for education requisition (an increase of $2,591,764 or 8.7%). This will again add an additional $83 per year in property taxes for the medium assessed home of $359,700 in 2026.

We fully support investment in education, but the increasing burden borne by municipalities makes it harder to collect enough for the services, equipment, and infrastructure we are here to provide.

Southeast Alberta Home & Leisure Tradeshow

Come visit our booths!

Friday, March 6 to Sunday, March 8 | Cypress Centre

We’re excited to have three booths at the Southeast Alberta Home & Leisure Tradeshow this weekend! Stop by the following booths to say hi and learn more:

City Council
Medicine Hat Fire and Emergency Services
Heritage Resources Working Group

View the Tradeshow schedule and other event details on their website.

TREX Exhibitions @ Medalta – opening reception

Friday, Mar. 6 | 6:30 p.m. | Medalta

The public is invited to the Opening Reception of TREX Exhibitions @ Medalta tomorrow! Join us for this free event as we celebrate the opening of two compelling exhibitions – Collision Course and The Looking Glass.

Artists and curators will be in attendance for conversation throughout the evening. Enjoy light refreshments, a bar with drinks available for purchase, and live music from a local performer.

We’re especially excited to present interactive elements in conjunction with each exhibition. These include The Looking Glass’ Room of Mirrors, encouraging visitors to step into their own world of self-reflection, and Collision Course’s Collage-Making Station, inviting visitors of all ages to create their own collages or add to the collaborative community collage wall.

Learn more about this TREX event here.

Folk Memoirs

March 7 to April 4, 2026 | Esplanade

Folk Memoirs is a collection of visual narratives experienced while growing up on the Alberta prairies. Sourcing these rare historical moments from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts permanent collection, you will see paintings by Hazel Litzgus, Irene McCaugherty, William Panko and Doris Zaharichuk.

The works are described as folk art, which is a unique style of art that reflects the cultural life of a community. Inspired by scenes from everyday life including: helping with housework, farm labor, playing outside, going to rodeos and more.

Learn more about this exhibit here.

Want to see more upcoming events, programming and activities? View all options at City of Medicine Hat facilities:

eTax and Earth Day: your chance to win!

Did you know it costs an estimated $2 to send a paper bill? Between stamp, envelope, paper, ink, printing processing time, and mail clerk time, paper bills add expenses and environmental waste.

The City of Medicine Hat launched eBilling (electronic/paperless billing) for utility bills in 2013, with 67% of utility accounts now receiving their utility bills online.

The City’s new eTax system, launched just last year, now supports electronic billing too! Currently, only 15% of tax accounts are on eBilling and we want to grow that number, so… it’s contest time!

You can win!

Help reduce waste and get convenient access to your tax and assessment information by signing up for eBilling on eTax before Earth Day (April 22) to be entered to win a $500 City of Medicine Hat Gift Card.

Go to eTax

How can I find out what Council is going to discuss at their next meeting?

Easy! Subscribe to the Council and Committee Calendars and you'll receive email notification when the agenda is published!

If you previously subscribed to calendars - head over there anyway and resubscribe. We've made some changes recently so we don't want you to miss out. Remember - you'll receive an email with a confirmation link that must be clicked to confirm your subscription, so check your junk box!

If you're not into subscribing, you can always just check out the agendas and minutes portal.

To view all our career opportunities at the City of Medicine Hat, visit our Careers webpage and sign up for job alerts.

Customer Service Representative

Temporary (up to 6 months) | Full-time | On-site

Are you passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and thrive in a fast-paced environment? As a Customer Service Representative, you will be the first point of contact for residents and businesses, providing support for utility, tax, and general accounts receivable.

This role involves processing customer transactions, maintaining accurate records, and assisting with inquiries. If you're detail-oriented and enjoy helping others, we encourage you to apply!

Learn more and apply on our Careers webpage.

Abilities Claims Specialist

Permanent | Full-time | On-site

The City of Medicine Hat is seeking an experienced Abilities Claims Specialist to play a hands-on role in supporting employees through injury, illness, and recovery.

This position is central to our Disability Management and Workers' Compensation programs, working directly with leaders, healthcare providers, and employees to enable safe, timely, and sustainable return-to-work outcomes.

Reporting to the Senior Abilities Claims Specialist, the Abilities Claims Specialist plays a key role in the effective administration of the Disability Management Program and the Worker's Compensation Program.

Learn more and apply on our Careers webpage.

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