PENHOLD - The provincial government's 2018 budget means less money for municipalities, says Mayor Mike Yargeau.
“As we dial back our capital spending to reduce our debt burden and reduce our borrowing costs, the government will make changes to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) and small reductions will be made to other municipal grants,” said Joe Ceci, finance minister, during Thursday's budget announcement.
Yargeau said while the government gave MSI money to municipalities in the sum of $800 million last week, that amount will help with the shortfall expected over the next couple of years.
"What that is actually for is to make up for $400 million less each year that each municipality will get for the next two years,” said Yargeau. “For the Town of Penhold that equals roughly $230,000 per year," he added, noting the province released $460,000 to the town last week.
“Now that means we’ll be getting less over the two years.”
Ceci also stated that with MSI set to expire in the 2021-22 fiscal year and in bringing the budget into balance, funding arrangements with municipalities will be reviewed.
That review may include consultations with municipalities and organizations like the AUMA (Alberta Urban Municipalities Association), said Yargeau, but noted it paints an uncertain future for municipalities.
"We don’t know for sure what that means,” he said.
One area of concern for Yargeau was how the decrease in funding over the next few years will impact infrastructure. With growing populations in several municipalities in Alberta, including Penhold, infrastructure demands continue to increase.
“That also means replacing the aging infrastructure that we already have," said Yargeau. “In this budget there is less money available to municipalities to help cover those infrastructure costs.
“There’s different grants that municipalities can apply for and they’ve all been scaled back, so that means less money for municipalities,” he added. “It’s something we now have to deal with. The provincial government has made their choice.
“Provincially, I’m worried about the debt servicing costs and municipally, I’m happy with the MSI funding," explained Yargeau. "I’d like to see more money go towards growing infrastructure demands for the Town of Penhold and other municipalities.”
Yargeau also said he was pleased to see the announcement of 20 new schools and noted the need for a new school in Penhold. While he was happy to see a focus on rural crime as well, he had some concerns.
“There’s enough money for officers but from what I understand, the RCMP hasn’t said that those new officers are there, trained and ready to go," Yargeau concluded.
