The 2013 provincial budget came out last week and is getting blasted from both sides; one saying cuts will hurt too much and one saying the government didn’t go far enough.
For Mayor Terry Yemen, his issue was it didn’t fix any of the problems the old model of funding had, in particular the Municipal Sustainability Initiative.
Finance Minister Doug Horner said in his speech last week the government was not going to balance the budget on the back of municipalities and the Municipal Sustainability Initiative will continue to be funded. Mayor Yemen said, is a fund they cannot rely on from year to year.
“To call it sustainable means that it has to be predictable, and it is never predictable,” said Yemen. “If we can’t know what we are going to get, it is tough to make plans to use that funding.”
He explains that the government is not hearing the concerns of the municipalities and is insisting the funding is staying the same.
“Over the terms of the project we are getting the same money, but they keep extending the term. “We are getting less money every year but they say the funding is going to be the same, but it is going to take years longer to get it,” he said.
Ross Rawlusyk, CAO for Starland County, says the Municipal Sustainability Initiative will continue to fall in rural areas, simply because cities will continue to grow and take the lions share of per capital funding each year.
One program cut he saw that was particularly surprising was the Local Road Bridge Program. He explains the government has a program where they would fund 75-80 per cent for bridge and culvert structure repair and replacement, he estimates this will take about $200,000 minimum each year out of their budget.
“It is a major expense for us,” said Rawlusyk.
Starland County also saw a 3.9 per cent reduction in the Basic Municipal Transportation Grant, which will cost the county about $15-18,000 per year.
Overall, he says the cuts are not as extreme as the Klein era.
“I have been here long enough I remember the Klein cuts too, and those were much worse. One grant in the Klein cuts, our Municipal Assistance Grant, went from $605,000 to $1,600… and our budget was much smaller too. This was close to 20 per cent of our budget. When you talk about cuts, this is nothing compared to what we previously endured,” he said. “These cuts are not so deep that we cannot adjust.”
Another issue with the budget for Yemen is again not a change but the status quo on Senior Lodge funding. Last year, the requisitions for funding from ratepayers for the Drumheller and District Seniors Foundation doubled. Yemen expects it will increase again this year.
“They have to bump it again next year because the provincial government has stepped away from the table and downloaded it to the municipality,” he said.
Another line item that could affect the town is the wastewater treatment funding.
“They have $25 million for all of Alberta in the budget…we have a $4 million project on the books now that we have been asking for grant money for,” said Yemen.
He said the project is the result of the Alberta government’s changing of standards.
“$25 million is one project for Calgary or Edmonton and then the money is gone,” he said.
Yemen says the province should have enough money to increase funding where he feels it is necessary.
“You don’t have to cut, you need to manage,” he said.
For Rawlusyk, he feels this is a challenge they will be able to face.
“The policy direction has been set and our efforts will be to try and adjust our budget to live with it,” said Rawlusyk.