Red Deer will find itself among a supportive crowd as it hosts the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s fall conference.
About 1,700 municipal representatives are expected for the conference, which kicks off on Wednesday and runs until Saturday.
AUMA president Barry Morishita said funding is the big issue for municipalities.
The province is reviewing the funding formula for the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI), a pool of money that communities have come to rely on.
Red Deer receives about $20 million a year in MSI funding — almost all for capital projects. The city does not want to see that funding diminished.
The program officially ended, but the Alberta government has committed to keeping MSI until 2022, but how the cash will be divvied up has yet to be decided.
Morishita said the uncertainty over the shape of the future program poses a big problem for municipalities.
Alberta municipalities are also concerned about the continued downloading of costs on to their tax bases.
Cannabis legalization is also a concern because municipalities anticipate it will mean having to spend more on safety, education and administration.
The federal government suggested marijuana revenues be split 75/25 with the larger portion going to the provinces. Municipalities want to see the provincial take shared among municipalities but no specifics have been announced.
Mayor Tara Veer said having the support of AUMA municipalities has helped the city land major government commitments, such as the $80 million Hwy 2 interchange project and the proposed courthouse.
“The AUMA has been incredibly important to us as a community.”
This is the first time in more than 20 years the convention has been taken outside Edmonton or Calgary.
Veer said it will give the city an economic boost and is another example of successful economic diversification locally.
The convention will give the city an opportunity to discuss other issues facing municipalities, including the social issues that have arisen from the recession.
“Our community has significant social and safety challenges,” she said.
Council will be meeting with Community and Social Services Minister Irfan Sabir to press for funding for an emergency shelter.
The city also will meet with senior RCMP K-Division officers to talk about boosting police funding while discussion how resources are allocated and 911 call wait times.
Council still waiting to hear from health minister on the need to expand the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
Veer said they also want to discuss the significant needle debris in our community with the minister.
Another issue that will be making the rounds is the inequality in policing funding between rural and urban municipalities. Rural municipalities get significant funding help from the province that is not available to urban municipalities, which must cover the cost of policing largely through taxes.
Urban municipalities with more than 5,000 have to pay for policing, while small communities, municipal districts and counties are exempt from most costs.
“That is a common denominator across municipalities that are members of the AUMA,” she said.
Red Deer South MLA Barb Miller said she and other government representatives will be coming to the conference with open ears.
For Red Deer specifically, more funding has been allocated for needle cleanup and work continues to find a permanent home for an overdose prevention site, said Miller.
Government representatives will also be bringing the message that the economy is bouncing back.
“We are seeing an ongoing broad-based economic recovery in Alberta,” she said, adding the Red Deer economy has done even better than average.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
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