Starland County is looking into hiring an economic development officer in hopes to drum up some business for the county.
Starland County Council recently approved a motion to hire an economic development officer for a one year term, with a six month probationary period. Council also moved that three councillors and one staff member attend the 2023 Economic Developers Conference.
Reeve Steve Wannstrom says they are looking at opportunities to expand their tax base.
“We want to put out some feelers and see if we can attract something for the tax base,” said Wanstrom.
He says Starland has some advantages including available resource-rich land, and a strong community.
The recently released Alberta Budget also focuses on building economic capacity throughout the province and in rural areas.
Drumheller-Stettler MLA and Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Nate Horner announced The Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit, which will provide a non-refundable tax credit of 12 per cent of eligible capital expenditures for corporations investing $10 million or more to build or expand agri-processing facilities in Alberta.
The budget includes $10 million over three years for rural business supports and economic development capacity building initiatives and a further $10 million over 2 years for rural tourism investment programming.