OLDS — The Town of Olds' chief administrative officer says the municipality will comply with a request by the province’s Municipal Affairs ministry to provide information on all agreements it has with the federal government.
But, Brent Williams, suggested the provincial government shouldn’t be surprised that the town struck deals with the feds when provincial funding dollars have fallen.
The ministry sent a letter to municipalities across the province requesting the information, with a deadline of Jan. 31 to reply.
There’s talk the province may soon introduce legislation requiring the federal government to negotiate with the province, not municipalities.
In an email, Williams told the Albertan that the town will indeed “prepare the document requested by Municipal Affairs.”
However, that list may not be very long.
“Our only standing agreements are with the RCMP and the Federal Gas Tax fund, which are both administered in part by the province,” Williams wrote.
“Everything else are one-time grant applications, which have no ‘relationship’ outside of funding and reporting.”
Williams went on to write, “it is the government of Alberta’s prerogative to ask municipalities whatever they want. We are creatures of the province and operate by its rules.
“However, when the province simultaneously cuts capital funding to municipalities (33 per cent in three years) and downloads further costs onto them (policing, housing, seniors care, for example), it shouldn’t be difficult to understand why municipalities are looking at other sources of funding (federal grants being one) to help offset the burden being placed onto property owners.
“The Town of Olds hopes the province recognizes the root cause of increasing municipal/federal funding agreements and seeks to address those systemic funding and infrastructure gaps as the first priority.”
