WESTLOCK — The Village of Clyde has officially met its viability requirements that were set out in a study five years ago, and will no longer have to report to the provincial government.
Village CAO Ron Cust said the final report from Municipal Affairs will be coming out soon, and it “indicated that we were satisfying all the needs legislatively with regard to the audit of our operation.”
Since 2016, the village has been reporting to the ministry with 10-year capital plans, one of the requirements the minister at the time put in the report for Clyde’s future survival as an independent municipality.
“(The minister's) concern during the viability (study) was there was money in the bank and the infrastructure was not being worked on. So one of the things that happened when I took over is I took a look at what the real issues were there, and worked through getting the infrastructure issues taken care of based on the report that was done,” Cust said.
“With that, each year, the minister’s office, under the minister’s order from 2016, requests that we send the information showing that we were doing the capital improvements as was noted. To be viable, we had to repair the sidewalks, we had to repair the streets, we’ve got a grant now to upgrade the lagoon.
“We've shown that we’ve done more than probably $2.5 million in repairs and work on the infrastructure of the Village of Clyde in the last two and a half years.”
This year, Clyde has a little over $1.2 million earmarked for capital improvements in sidewalks, roads and the lagoon.
The viability study was prompted by a resident’s petition in 2013 to dissolve the village and incorporate it into Westlock County. At the time, the resident was concerned about high taxation, and thought they would continue to climb unless the village dissolved.
The process lasted three years and included a viability review team headed by Municipal Affairs that ultimately determined in 2015 that Clyde was trending toward non-viability. The report listed difficulty in attracting staff and councillors, difficulty in attracting growth and development, not running utilities in full cost-recovery and a high amount of outstanding property taxes as factors.
At the time, about 22 per cent of property taxes went unpaid in Clyde.
The reviewers also said “the village does not know the overall conditions of the village’s infrastructure, what infrastructure upgrades and replacements are required, or how future infrastructure projects could be funded.”
Then-mayor and current deputy mayor Doug Nyal disagreed with the latter at the time.
In 2016, Municipal Affairs provided a viability plan, and councillors decided to remain independent and not put the dissolution question to a plebiscite.
Cust said the village is also working regionally now — which Municipal Affairs also recommended — and has formed partnerships with, or contracted work from both the county and the Town of Westlock. Clyde is part of both the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee and the regular tri-council meetings.
The municipalities are also working together on a regional emergency plan, while Clyde and the county are in the process of negotiating a fire services contract.
