There was a lot of trepidation among municipalities last week about the looming provincial budget and Ponoka County was one of them.
However, despite some cuts, the county isn’t going to be hurt financially by Budget 2018.
The county will see its 2018 Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funds drop by $1.88 million to a shade under $2 million, while its Gas Tax Rebate Grant will see almost $541,000 — an increase of around $90,000.
And while the county didn’t change its tax rates from 2017, residents will see a slight difference in what they pay as the provincial education property taxes went up. What that will mean for a landowner with an assessment of $300,000 is about a $24 increase this year.
Reeve Paul McLauchlin feels the county came out relatively unscathed mostly due to its fiscally responsible operation.
“We’ve always had conservative budgeting anyway,” he said. “(The budget) was not disasterous and we can work with it. This budget didn’t surprise us much.”
McLauchlin was pleased with the province’s indication it will legislate maintaining MSI until 2020 and establishing a new stable funding program to follow.
“For the most part, the biggest concern was surrounding the topic of revenue sharing. Ultimately, that is going to put our MSI into a formula which will likely be tied to resource revenue. They might go so far as to look at the Trans-Mountain pipeline as a direct peg that (those funds) will be attached to,” he stated.
“I’m not against it. Though, it’s a bit of a shell game, giving you access to money intended for municipalities anyway. Once we get past 2020 all bets are off and this province has no other source of revenue other than oil and gas. And if we are not given MSI, then we just don’t pave roads or give out large capital donations to non-profits and to adjacent municipalities.”
One other notable item that will have a long term impact on the county is the reduction of the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP). The program has provided funds to municipalities to help replace items such as bridges. Ponoka County has around 150 bridges, the vast majority that are more than 30 years old, with many in need of replacement.
“It’s always been over-subscribed, but STIP is a big deal for the county from a long term funding standpoint. We have a 20 to 30 year liability and if we don’t get the funds it is not going to get done,” McLauchlin said.
That infrastructure liability could range from $100 to $150 million in Ponoka County alone and will only be added to around Alberta given the financial situation the province faces.
“In the Klein era, sure his government had no debt, but there was a huge infrastructure deficit we are still trying to make up for. So, all that may happen if the government changes is there will be someone chasing decreasing the cost of government, by laying people off and, at same time, having that capital deficit.”
He added that, while understanding the need for fiscal restraint as revenues remain stagnant, the STIP is fairly critical to maintaining that access for the resource industry and keeping communities connected.