ATHABASCA - The Alberta government’s budget for 2020-21 is getting mixed reviews from municipalities.
Finance minister Travis Toews presented Budget 2020 to the public Feb. 27, and as many expected, bringing down the deficit featured as a large priority in the document, which is going to mean some belt-tightening for municipalities into the coming three years.
“All of this is putting municipalities, including the town, in a difficult position,” said Town of Athabasca mayor Colleen Powell in an e-mail March 1. “In order to simply maintain balance, we have to begin to cut services, increase property tax or both.”
Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding, which provides a large chunk cash for roads and other infrastructure, is projected to decrease from $963 million this year to $927 million next year, before it is replaced by the Local Government Fiscal Framework in 2022-23.
“While we are pleased to see MSI funding remaining this year, it will be reduced next year and in 2022 replaced by another program called the Local Government Fiscal Framework,” Powell stated. “We expect information on the program in the next year or so. But we have had to scale back some capital projects.”
RCMP funding was 30 per cent funded by the federal government and 70 per cent funded by the provincial government, with urban towns and cities over 5,000 in population who use the RCMP paying for the entire detachment. Now all municipalities, urban and rural, who use the RCMP, will pay for the service and paying roughly 35 per cent in a few years.
“Police funding is now being collected by municipalities through property tax. This year the town will collect a little over $58,000 and that amount will increase to over $174,000 in two to three years,” Powell explained. “Our provincial organization, AUMA, advocated for this to be a requisition — that is, money collected by the town for some other agency. The government is insisting that it be added into the general property tax. In Athabasca this amount is roughly two per cent on top of your regular property tax.”
The Town of Athabasca passed its interim budget for 2020 knowing it would have to come back to the council once the province released its budget. The first budget meeting was March 2 with an open house scheduled for March 16 at 7 p.m.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta president Al Kemmere said in a press release the organization, which advocates for rural municipalities throughout the province, recognizes the need to balance sustainable services and funding with fiscal responsibility and while this year’s budget has “relatively limited impacts on municipalities,” there are a few concerns.
At the top of that list is “the increase in the Education Property Tax Requisition, which will require municipalities to collect an additional $102 million in education property taxes on behalf of the province at a time when many RMA members are facing a fiscal crisis due to unpaid property taxes,” said Kemmere.
In January, RMA released numbers showing rural municipalities in Alberta were owed $173 million in unpaid oil and gas property taxes.
RMA’s urban counterpart, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, takes a similar stance, saying that while the budget does not necessarily add to the burden municipalities are already facing, but there are some notable issues – the education requisition, again, being a major one.
“Despite the provincial government freezing spending in the education sector, it appears they are collecting an additional 4.1 per cent, which is equivalent to about $102 million from taxpayers,” said AUMA president Barry Morishita in a press release.
“Let's call this what it is: a tax increase that's making life more unaffordable for Albertans, and one that has been downloaded to municipalities to collect as part of municipal property taxes. It’s unacceptable to municipalities, and to our residents.”
Both organizations were glad to see CFEP (Community Facility Enhancement Program), CIP (Community Initiatives Program) and ACP (Alberta Community Partnership) grant funding maintained for 2020.
They were also glad to see stable funding for libraries and Family and Community Support Services.
“We have heard the commitment from the government that they’re focused on strategic, coordinated investments to stimulate our economy,” said Morishita. “We hope this results in engaging in collaborative partnerships with municipalities to ensure that responsible investment occurs in our communities, where we can maximize the return on our investments, create jobs and stimulate our economy.”
Powell also expressed concerns about funding to education and that different family programs in will now have to compete for funding.
“The education portion of your property tax bill is increasing 4.2 per cent. Municipalities have been trying to get the Government to move more, if not all, education tax to the province where it would be paid through income tax,” she said. “This is a move back to property owners paying an increasing amount in education tax.”
“I'm (also) concerned about FCSS funding, not funding per se, but the way they have changed the way the services are provided; FCSS, Thrive and the other agencies now have to compete for the same projects.”
Athabasca County reeve Larry Armfelt was unavailable for comment before press time.
– With files from Chris Zwick
Heather Stocking, TownandCountryToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @HLSox
