OLDS — Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper was questioned by a couple of Olds councillors recently on what the provincial government can do to help cash-strapped and lean municipalities like Olds.
Cooper appeared before town council in lare February.
Cooper didn’t have any specific solutions, but indicated that he and provincial officials sympathize with the plight of communities like Olds, caught between severe, expensive infrastructure costs, and declining provincial revenues.
The first question came from Coun. Darren Wilson.
Wilson said the town’s allocation of funding via the province’s Local Government Fiscal Framework (previously called MSI, the Municipal Sustainability Initiative) has fallen by about 40 per cent from 2016 to 2024.
Wilson said that money slid from about $2.1 million to a little over $1.2 million.
“We are stretched thin and our taxpayers are stretched thin, trying to make a go of it, in today's economy and world with all the pressures that we know are out there financially,” Wilson said.
He asked Cooper to pass that message on when interacting with Finance Minister and Treasury Board president Nate Horner and Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf.
Wilson said when Olds compares its staffing with other communities of similar size and circumstances “our staffing is at a bare minimum.”
“We are doing what we can with what we have, and not acting frivolously in any area, whether it's staffing, whether it's how we spend and what we spend.”
Wilson praised Premier Danielle Smith for her efforts to keep a tight rein on spending but said, “there's also the reality of running a municipality. And we are stretched.”
Cooper said he has a “keen understanding of the challenges that municipalities face,” having been a Carstairs town councillor before venturing into provincial politics.
He said creating a balance between the wants of municipalities and residents versus revenue “is the biggest challenge that we face as a provincial government.”
“It is an impossible chore to create solutions where every municipality has all of their needs met and every municipality is happy, even with the way that the province determines who gets what funding,” he said.
Cooper said the provincial government appreciates the way that “the overwhelming majority of municipalities function as leanly and as appropriately as possible.”
Coun. Heather Ryan asked Cooper if he knew of any one-off grants available for municipalities “if they showed extreme need for something outside of the LGFF/MSI.”
She said Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver had made mention of them.
“I'm just wondering, have you heard anything with regards to these one-offs? Do you support that idea,” she asked.
“I haven't heard of (that) so I'm not familiar with what the minister has or hasn't said,” Cooper replied.
“I think that, you know, in an ideal scenario, the province would recognize that there are circumstances that are beyond the control of anyone, and to find some way to partner in that.”
Cooper said the provincial government has provided grants that would appear to have fallen in that category previously.
He said sometimes, the province has to help municipalities that “haven't managed some of their resources as well as others” and end up in an “emergency situation.”
He noted at the same time, there are other municipalities that have controlled their finances well that would also like access to emergency funds.
Cooper suggested the goal would be to “minimize those one-offs.”
“I can understand why that may be a good idea. But also recognize that there are lots of variables beyond anyone's control, that sometimes we need to be partners on,” he said.
