Reports

Local governments in the Province of Alberta have an enviable record of working together to address service delivery needs within their region. Historically they have recognized that by combining forces in a cooperative effort they can effectively and efficiently find and implement regional solutions without compromising the integrity of individual municipalities.

The success of these regional alliances has not been without challenges but the collective will and spirit of cooperation has been such that solutions have been secured.

There have also been times in the past when the provincial government has seen fit to impose regional solutions. These approaches, most notably regional planning commissions, have produced results but not without dissatisfaction and discord among the participants. Imposed or forced regionalization invariably resulted in the fostering of long standing resentment and the belief that they, individually, had not been treated fairly or equitably.

With this in mind, the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) has prepared this position paper on forced regionalization.

CPCS has been engaged by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) to address this gap. The present study provides the AAMDC and its members with the necessary facts, insights, and supporting analysis to engage in an informed and productive fashion with the Government of Alberta and others regarding any future HSR planning, and to ensure that the interests of its member municipalities are well and clearly represented in this discussion.

The Rural Connectivity Gap Analysis is the first step in determining the extent of broadband coverage in rural Alberta. The project’s objective was to create a map that would identify areas that are served, underserved, or unserved by rural broadband providers. Municipalities and others can use this map to help target broadband development policies in areas that are underserved or unserved, and as a baseline to track improvements in reducing the gap over time. The rural broadband survey excluded urban areas, specifically: Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray.

Mapping Success, the AAMDC’s new strategic plan, again focuses on an action-oriented format. It uses our mandate, vision, mission and values to guide the development of objectives. These objectives will then inform the development of a corporate-level operational plan containing initiatives, or specific actions, that the Association can undertake to meet these objectives. Ultimately, our goal in this strategic planning process has been to ensure that on-the-ground activities of the organization contribute to the overall achievement of our mission and fulfillment of our mandate. This strategic plan combines strategy with operational realities.

In Alberta, as in other provinces, there is considerable debate concerning the relative merits of revenue sharing and/or of cost sharing. One of the difficulties of this discussion is the lack of a clear definition of what is meant by the two terms. For purposes of this paper, cost sharing means: two or more municipalities jointly contributing capital and/or operating dollars to have common access to some benefit (service). Revenue sharing, on the other hand, means one municipality sharing access to their assessment base for the purpose of generating revenue for one or more other municipalities. We will examine each of these definitions and what conditions give rise to their use.

The planning and development system in Alberta is believed by the committee to be generally strong. While improvements can always be found when legislation is under review, it is the general stance that the system functions in an overall effective manner.

Recommendations within this report will need to be viewed under the context of the Land Use Framework (LUF). The LUF, and the regional plans for the province, will have overarching effects, to which municipalities will need to adapt. At this time, there has not been a Regional Advisory Council complete its work and release a regional plan. It has been communicated to the AAMDC membership that regional plans will look at each part of the province from an overarching perspective. The AAMDC would encourage the province to keep the regional plans away from too much detail. Municipalities will still need the flexibility and authority to make planning and growth decisions for the future.

The AAMDC Standing Issues Committee on Governance, Infrastructure and the Economy met numerous times in 2010 to put forward recommendations on potential changes to the Municipal Government Act. The committee was asked by the board to examine Part 9: Assessment and Part 17: Planning and Development. This report is a summary of their recommendations to the board on rural assessment issues.

In 2008, the AAMDC and Alberta Environment (AENV) contracted a research assistant to conduct an environmental scan. The purpose of the environmental scan was to identify sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) from rural municipalities and to identify barriers and opportunities for action.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) recently prepared a researchreport which examined the spending patterns of Alberta’s municipalities. Basedprimarily on its review of the 2000?2006 period, the CFIB concluded that municipalspending has exceeded combined population and inflation growth in recent years andraised concerns regarding the outlook for future property taxes and fees if this trendremains unchecked. The report concluded with a set of recommended policy directionsfor controlling spending at the local level.