As far as provinces go, Alberta’s filthy rich. So why is it that local governing bodies seem to keep getting the short end of the stick?
It’s the same story, year after year. Every local decision-making body — whether it’s a municipal council, a school board or a housing foundation — seems to be in a perpetual state of scrambling for funds after the provincial government cuts more and more money.
This year the Municipal Sustainability Initiative has taken a big hit.
The inevitable result of this is an increasing reliance on property taxes — the town had to raise taxes this year, Clyde will apparently be doing the same and while Westlock County’s budget hasn’t been formally approved yet, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some belt-tightening.
Having to rely more heavily on property taxes to provide the same level of service has drastically different effects on a municipality, depending where it’s located.
If a municipality is fortunate enough to have some heavy industry — such as some in northern Alberta or Strathcona County a little way to the east — losing grant money isn’t a big deal.
But in communities like those in our area, raising taxes means very simply residents — whether homeowners or renters — will end up paying more. The same can be said for school boards and housing foundations. When grants don’t increase at the same pace as inflation, they’re effectively getting smaller each year.
And when you decrease or cut them out altogether … well, we all know the taxman cometh.
To put it simply, the current course of action of this provincial government as we’ve seen it develop over the past decade or so will continue to increase pressure on local governing bodies and by extension, residents.
Meanwhile, we keep hearing about million-dollar severance packages for provincial officials and questionable expenses like luxury lofts and family vacations on the taxpayer dollar.
In a province that continues to boast trillions of dollars worth of natural resources that are being developed at a breakneck pace, it’s shameful that municipalities get left out in the cold.
Perhaps it’s time for a new deal where all municipalities get their fair share of the resource wealth.
