OLDS — The provincial budget, announced in late February, had no major effect on the town of Olds budget, according to finance director Sheena Linderman.
The town is receiving about $600,000 more in its 2021 Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) operating grant. But the plan calls for that funding to decrease sharply in 2022 and 2023.
"Overall, this will equate to decline of 25 per cent over the three years," Linderman said during council’s March 1 policies and priorities meeting,
Coun. Heather Ryan asked Linderman if the town could spread that increase out over 2022 and 2023 to absorb some of the pain from the cuts in those years.
Linderman said that’s the plan.
In an email, town officials said two because two shovel-ready projects received provincial approval previously, they’re still a go.
One of those projects is construction of a $6 million roundabout on 68th Street and Highway 2A south of the cemetery. The town received a $3 million Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program grant for that project.
The other project is installation of traffic lights with left and right turning signals at the intersection of 70th Avenue and Highway 27. The town received $1.1 million for that project, basically its entire projected cost.
Linderman noted the education property tax was frozen.
“While this is welcome news on the whole, it does not necessarily mean individual municipalities will not see an increase,” she said.
"While the total revenue collected by the province has been frozen, each municipality will be impacted to a different degree, dependent on the fluctuations to their assessment values.”
Linderman also pointed out that the education portion of property tax is slated to increase three per cent per year in 2022 and 2023.
She said Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funding and police operating grants remained the same. Grants in lieu of taxes have also remained in place.
Linderman also noted that 2021 is expected to be the final year in the life of MSI. Plans had called for it to be replaced by the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF).
However, in the provincial budget, it was announced that the LGFF program will be deferred until 2024 and that baseline funding for that program has been cut by 16 per cent.
The Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) grant was increased by $10 million to help municipalities hold senatorial and referenda in conjunction with municipal elections this fall. So far, it’s unknown how that money will be rolled out.
Linderman and chief administrative officer Michael Merritt said staff will evaluate the provincial budget and its impacts on the town more closely in the coming weeks.
If, as a result, changes are needed to the town’s budget, proposals to that effect will be brought to council for approval later this spring.
“I guess we’ll just have to play the wait and see game,” Coun. Wanda Blatz said.
