A recent all-council meeting between Mountain View County and the Town of Olds was a productive first step toward hammering out a new cost-sharing plan for services, according to county reeve Bruce Beattie.
No bargaining between the two parties occurred, Beattie said, but the meeting was intended to set the table for how the negotiation process will go in the future.
The reeve said discussion focused on who would take part in talks, how to determine areas of mutual benefit and what a fair bargaining process would look like.
“It was an excellent discussion, an excellent opportunity – a really good opportunity for our two councils to talk amongst ourselves and also to set up the process to go forward with a new service agreement,” Beattie said.
Olds mayor Judy Dahl also participated in talks and said the discussion went well.
“We're pretty excited about moving forward. The meeting with the all-council of the reeve and the all-council of Olds and the mayor and the facilitator, was definitely a step forward. We are seeking to understand what is driving our decisions as a region,” Dahl said.
In a letter to the Town of Olds dated Sept. 17, Beattie gave notice that Mountain View County would not renew a memorandum of agreement expiring in 2016 that has the county pay the town in exchange for services, citing dissatisfaction with the deal in its current form.
Services listed under the agreement include water and wastewater, fire, library, recreation and culture, family and community support services and the cemetery.
The county wants the terms of water and wastewater services laid out in a stand-alone agreement, just like fire services, Beattie said.
Under the current MOA, the Town of Olds is paid 10 per cent of taxes collected from a county property that receives town water services. The town also receives 10 per cent in exchange for wastewater services.
Beattie said the county is examining other municipalities' cost-sharing arrangements to find best practices, when asked if it is seeking a new tax-sharing formula for water and wastewater services.
“We aren't going in with any preconceived ideas with how it should work,” he said.
He added the county wants to update the current MOA, which does not set terms for capital investment into culture and recreation facilities.
Selecting a negotiating committee is the next step for the county before further discussion is scheduled. Members on the Olds side include Dahl, Coun. Harvey Walsh and chief administrative officer Norm McInnis.
Beattie said the county wants to reach a deal before the current one expires.
“I think there's a good understanding and appreciation not only from Olds but other towns as well that this is one community and so we could build a stronger community if we're in unison,” he said.
