Funding for Alberta’s urban municipalities should be more predictable, says the leader of the Alberta Party.
Glenn Taylor is a three-term mayor of Hinton, Alta., in addition to his party leadership role, so he has firsthand experience with urban municipal funding.
“Rural municipalities are in the best position to make choices that impact their municipalities,” Taylor told a Lethbridge gathering Oct. 6.
“We don’t see a difference between rural and urban. It’s a matter of scale.”
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The party’s municipal government policy, which was officially released the day of his presentation, focuses on the premise that 92 cents of every federal and provincial tax dollar collected in Alberta goes to those two governments, leaving eight cents for municipalities.
They must provide essential services with that tax base, in addition to whatever grants and other funding methods they are able to arrange.
Taylor said municipalities must have a minimal baseline of funding on which they can rely.
“We also recognize that many municipalities, in order to continue to exist, need to ensure that they have an equitable base level of funding to deliver the services that make sense for their community,” he said.
“So our policy speaks to both of those. A minimum baseline, as well as those large municipalities having access to a more diverse tax base.”
Taylor said municipal infrastructure hasn’t been adequately funded in Alberta. As “wards of the province,” cities and towns are “largely subject to the whim of the provincial government’s political agenda, to erratic and unsteady funding and to a lack of respect for local initiatives.”
This tends to pit municipalities against each other for available budget. Taylor acknowledged that the municipal sustainability initiative implemented three years ago has helped municipalities, but it provides year to year funding and a cap on amounts provided.
He said the solution is to remodel the current structure and give more authority to municipal governments to use a greater portion of property tax revenue to support core services.
Taylor also noted that the platform of new Alberta premier Alison Redford, included many ideas shared by the Alberta Party.
“It is a platform for change and in that I find hope.”
However, he added that the 40-year party dynasty will be difficult for Redford to change.
“Change in government in a truly healthy democracy does not come with just a single change in leadership. It’s a new coat of paint on the same old barn.”
