Budget draws concern and subdued praise

When Alberta's Finance Minister Joe Ceci rose in the legislature last week to unveil the 2017-18 budget there was scant mention of Central Alberta but Innisfail mayor Brian Spiller nevertheless joined in the provincewide concern that Alberta's debt was set to rise to an alarming $45 billion.

"I am disappointed that the debt in the province is growing immensely again," said Spiller.

But the mayor, who will be going over the fine print this week with administration, was also ready to pick out a positive "first impression," notably there will be no reduction to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding that is crucial for all municipalities.

As well, he was pleased the City of Red Deer will be getting a new $97- million courthouse, a facility that will benefit all of Central Alberta, including Innisfail.

"From first impressions they haven't cut anything for small communities. It looks like our MSI will stay the same," said Spiller, who added one point of concern about the vital $1.2-billion provincial program. According to provincial government figures released after the tabling of the March 16 budget, Innisfail will receive a total of almost $1.9 in MSI funding, including for capital and operational, and the Basic Municipal Transportation Grant. "There also was not an increase, and we've had annual cost of living increases every year for four or five years with no increase in our MSI, so the amount of money given to us, even though remaining stable, is actually less money than the year before.

"And we had a little bit of growth in assessment, and that will cover any increase in our education tax bill," he added optimistically, adding that portion of citizens' tax bills should not be going up either.

As for Red Deer's new courthouse, to replace an antiquated and cramped seven-room facility that was built in the early 1980s, Spiller said the announcement is a huge benefit for all Central Albertans.

"I believe it is long overdue. You might call it the Red Deer courthouse but it services all of Central Alberta," said the mayor. "I know the wait times in Central Alberta for court time in Red Deer stretch much longer than they are in the two big cities, and holding people two or three times longer than the normal limit when you are holding someone for trial.

"That is not fair to the accused, and the court system is very much stressed there."

Meanwhile, there were also "positive" first impressions from officials at both school boards that serve Innisfail and the region.

Guy Pelletier, chair of the board of trustees for the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, said he was pleased the government has committed to funding enrolment growth.

"It is critical for a division like Red Deer Catholic that grows by fairly big numbers every year, about four and a half per cent last year. It is so critical that each new student coming through the door comes with the funding to educate them," said Pelletier, who added there was also one important "less favourable" budget release, specifically to a capital issue, that still needs to be addressed. "Our number 1 item is the modernization of St. Patrick's Community School here in Red Deer. The budget did provide some money for capital growth and renovations across the province but we don't know yet if our school is one of them. We are hopeful that one comes out on the list but we don't know that until (this) week. "

At Chinook's Edge School Division, Kurt Sacher, the superintendent of schools, said his first impression of the budget was "positive" in light of the current economic climate, and was also relieved the government will continue to fund enrolment growth.

But he still wants to see details around Bill 1, which is aimed at eliminating 25 per cent of schools fees that parents have to pay each year but could adversely affect the division's revenue stream.

"It does appear as though they (government) have replenished as much funding as needed to compensate for the lack of ability to draw in fees, which was our concern," said Sacher. "Unfortunately once we get through the fine print there are adjustments that need to be made, so we just want to see the full impact of that before we say too much."