SUNDRE – The mayor of Sundre was pleased to see an increase in the provincial government’s funding for the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF).
However, that enthusiasm has been tempered by flatlined funding for Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) amid Alberta’s growing population, an increase in the province’s education requisition and the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the trade war triggered by the U.S. government.
Mayor Richard Warnock spoke with the Albertan on March 4 while in Edmonton for the Alberta Municipalities Munis leaders’ caucus.
Although increased funding to LGFF capital funding to the tune of about $96 million was certainly welcome, there are some concerns including the stagnant funding for FCSS in the face of a growing population.
“I know FCSS was looking for more funding, and they didn’t get it,” said Warnock, who also acknowledged the challenging situation the provincial government faces.
And the minor income tax cut for people who earn less than $60,000 annually – representing an annual savings of approximately $750 per person – has in a way been shuffled onto the shoulders of business and homeowners who can expect to see an increase in the provincial government’s education requisition.
“We know as rate payers that that’s going to affect our future tax bill,” the mayor said.
The education requisition is a rate set by the provincial government that municipalities have no control over.
“We’re just told what it is, and then we are responsible to collect and give it to them,” he said.
“We don’t know what those numbers are yet. But we will know that in the very near future.”
Further complicating matters is the unfolding trade war started by U.S. president Donald Trump, who during his first term lauded the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement that he signed in 2020 as “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law.”
Asked how much equipment, supplies or materials the municipality sources from south of the border, Warnock said the main example that came to mind was firefighting equipment.
“All the fire trucks are built in the U.S.,” he said.
The Sundre Fire Department just last year acquired an approximately $1-million truck with the cost split down the middle with Mountain View County.
“We are in good stead today, but it depends on what happens in the future.”
While the mayor expects the potential impacts of tariffs “will be a major topic of discussion at our spring workshop,” he also has reservations about spending too much time on discussions that “could be a complete waste time.
“It’s such an upheaval right now that we don’t know where it’s going to land,” he said.
“We are concerned – don’t get me wrong. We, as a municipality, are concerned. We just don’t know what game we’re playing yet.”
The mayor said he anticipates council will in the coming months be discussing the potential impacts of not only the tariffs but also the provincial government’s budget in much greater detail alongside administration in an effort to assess the situation and plan accordingly.
“Council and I have not had a chance to discuss it yet; we will have that opportunity in the near future.”
For the time being at least, he said the municipality has been advised what to expect this year from the LGFF.
“But we don’t know what’s happening for 2026,” he said.
“So, am I concerned? Yes. Because the world economy is not going well for North America. We don’t know what that’ll bring.”
Inflationary pricing to one extent or another affects just about everything a municipality does, “and we’re not getting any inflationary increases,” he said.
“So it does concern me personally that that’s hard to absorb as a municipality.”
However, council has already approved its own budget with a focus on minimizing any increase to the mill rate that will be set later in the spring by restraining increases to the municipality’s operational budget, he said.
“We don’t know how that will affect our taxes, but we’re not expecting anything at this time,” he said.
“We have made a budget for ’25 and ’26 based on the revenue that Alberta has told us we’re getting. As long as they don’t cut back funding in ’26, then Sundre will be OK for this budget cycle. But we know that there’s going to be hard times in the future.”
