MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — County officials, including reeve Angela Aalbers, have met with Alberta's minister of Municipal Affairs to discuss issues including the county’s call for the province to reinstate the well drilling and equipment tax.
The meeting with Ric McIver took place during the recent Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) conference in Edmonton. Aalbers called the discussions worthwhile.
“Our council also asked the minister to reinstate the well drilling and equipment tax, which Mountain View County uses to maintain our road and bridge infrastructure specifically related to oil and gas activity,” said Aalbers.
“The province set this tax to zero as of Dec. 31, 2020. Had they not set this to zero, the county would have been able to collect over $290,000 so far in 2021 from new well activity.”
The meeting also included a discussion regarding provincial floodway regulations.
“There have been draft provincial regulations since 2014,” she said. “The county is seeking directions from the province requesting communication to residents if and when these regulations will be released.”
Asked if McIver gave the county any commitment to reinstate the well drilling and equipment tax, Aalbers said, “There was no firm yes or no answer on the question we asked on the well drilling tax. We will continue to ask for this.”
There was also discussion about Bill 77, the Municipal Government Amendment Act which, if passed, would restore a special lien giving municipalities priority to collect unpaid property taxes from oil and gas companies.
“We are seeking clarity on the impacts of enacting the legislation on municipalities to better understand our options moving forward,” she said.
Premier Jason Kenney addressed the RMA conference on Nov 26.
“We were pleased to hear the premier speak of this government’s commitment to rural connectivity and ensuring access to rural high-speed internet,” said Aalbers.
“The province announced earlier this year a $150,000 jump-start broadband grant. Access to this grant for service providers in our area has been held up with efforts to get federal matching dollars, so the delay in the flow of dollars has been disappointing.”
The premier also spoke about the possibility of Alberta creating its own police force to replace the RCMP.
“Mountain View County continues to advocate for the province to engage all residents on the proposed changes to policing model,” Aalbers said. “The premier stated the importance of collaboration and Mountain View County will continue to engage the relevant ministries on these important issues.”
Official opposition leader Rachel Notley also addressed the conference.
“We very much appreciate (Notley) stating that rural communities are the backbone of Alberta and we could not agree more,” said Aalbers.
The RMA represents 69 rural municipalities, including Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
