Foothills municipalities are making the most of Provincial funding received this spring.
Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding was confirmed as Ric McIver, minister of municipal affairs, announced funding levels to Alberta municipalities at the end of May. Both the Town of Okotoks and Foothills County were allotted $7.9 million.
Larry Marsh, financial specialist for the Town of Okotoks, said the funding was on-par with the Town’s expectations based on previous years.
“It was definitely as expected,” said Marsh of the funding level.
He said the capital MSI funds are typically used for infrastructure projects such as the Arts and Learning Campus or the Pason Centennial Arenas expansion. The grant money could also be put towards projects like a downtown parking facility, he said.
There are guidelines municipalities follow to allocate MSI funds, he said.
“It could be a number of different things they could be used for, even emergency services equipment, things like that are eligible through this funding source,” said Marsh.
Foothills County CAO Ryan Payne said the MSI funding levels tend to fluctuate slightly from year to year, but typically land within the $6.5 to $7 million mark.
In the County, the funds are used for a number of capital projects including its paving program, road repair, gravel crushing to create aggregate for road maintenance, or bridge work. It can also be put toward water and wastewater utilities and recreation or sports facilities, he said.
“We also spend it, oftentimes, on emergency services infrastructure, whether that’s fire apparatus or peace officers’ vehicles and equipment when they come due for replacement,” said Payne. “Some of our larger public works equipment like graders and plow trucks are paid for with MSI funding.”
A slight reduction in MSI funding is expected over the next two years, with about $4.5 million anticipated to come through in 2022 and 2023, he said. Beginning in 2024, the Local Government Fiscal Framework will replace the MSI program, and though no firm details on the new funding have been released Payne said the County expects around $5 million per year.
“There has been an ongoing conversation with council in terms of expectations and whether we consider reducing service levels in certain areas or potentially increasing taxes for future years,” said Payne.
One strategy could be to increase taxes by just over one per cent per year for three or four years to make up for the shortfall in Provincial funding, he said, while the other would mean cutting services to maintain tax levels.
Marsh said the Town of Okotoks tends to plan conservatively, but hopes to see MSI-type funding continue into the future.
“It’s one of the largest forms of grant funding municipalities in Alberta receive, so they are very reliant on this type of funding,” said Marsh. “Hopefully, it will be around for many years.”
