It’s a classic case of downloading that could have significant implications for local taxpayers.
The provincial government’s new Local Government Fiscal Framework comes as a gut punch to Alberta municipalities as it continues a downward trend in senior government funding for local infrastructure projects like roads, fire hall and recreational facilities.
Okotoks has joined other municipalities in sounding the alarm, contending the ‘pot’ to fund such works is a whopping $1 billion below what it should be.
The Town received, on average, almost $6 million annually from the Province over the past decade but is slated to get less than $4 million in each of the next two years. Who do you think is going to be on the hook to make up that difference? Or maybe it’s a case of a project or projects not proceeding as planned. Whatever the case, it’s not good news.
Although the provincial government is making a concerted effort to attract people to Alberta, it’s systematically reducing the funding it provides municipalities to deal with that growth.
That’s just not fair.
According to the Town, the provincial government’s spending on local infrastructure has dropped from 3.7 per cent of total spending a decade ago to just one per cent today. Put another way, a dozen years ago the Province was providing $420 per capita for municipal infrastructure, a figure that sat at only $150 in 2023.
This is a government that’s projecting a $5.5-billion budget surplus when the current fiscal year ends in March, so it’s not like it can’t afford to adequately fund its share of infrastructure projects, it’s simply choosing to download these costs onto municipalities.
With an estimated $30 billion infrastructure deficit facing Alberta municipalities, it’s clear this issue has taken a back seat to other provincial priorities, particularly in the last three or four years, but it’s time that situation was reversed.
