The 2018-19 provincial budget released last week has been receiving mixed reviews from stakeholder groups and various elected officials.
Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie says he is pleased with some aspects of the budget and concerned with others.
The advance of $800 million of municipal sustainability initiative (MSI) funding in the budget is certainly good news, he said.
鈥淚 think that is welcome and we can certainly put that to good use,鈥� said Beattie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we rely on. It is something based on population and not based on competing for these funds, so that鈥檚 positive.
鈥淐ertainly the continued funding for the agricultural service boards and the agricultural societies is also welcome from a rural perspective.鈥�
One concern with the budget is its reliance on pipeline projects still to be completed, he said.
鈥淲e are obviously still concerned on the reliance on oil and gas and I think that is going to be a long-term thing,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he reliance on the success of getting the Trans Mountain pipeline (expansion) built, which still appears to have lots of opposition, is a concern.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping the federal government will do their part and make sure this is done.鈥�
It is also a concern that the provincial debt has increased under the budget, he said.
鈥淵es, the debt is growing and it is a concern, but relative to other provinces we are still in pretty good shape,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 guess we will continue to rely on those resource revenues and hope that we can gradually move away from them but I think it鈥檚 going to be a long-term effort.鈥�
The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) represents 69 rural municipalities, including Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
Organization president Al Kemmere, who is also an MVC councillor, said the advance of $800 million of MSI funding in the budget will give municipalities the opportunity to move forward on priority projects while more confidently making multi-year capital investments.
鈥淭he government鈥檚 announcement of forthcoming legislation for municipal funding represents an unprecedented level of support and collaboration between the province and municipalities,鈥� said Kemmere.
鈥淭he RMA and its members look forward to working with the government of Alberta on developing a program that shares a consistent portion of the province鈥檚 revenues with municipalities to the benefit of all 51黑料s.
While the association is pleased with the budget as it relates to municipal infrastructure funding, 鈥渄ecisions made on other programs will cause challenges for rural municipalities,鈥� he said.
Specifically, the reduction of the strategic transportation infrastructure program is a concern, he said.
鈥淢any bridges across rural Alberta are nearing the end of their lifespan, and without adequate funding the only choice for rural municipalities will be to close or weight restrict these crossings,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his lack of funding will results in infrastructure deficits and will have detrimental impacts across rural Alberta for years to come.鈥�
The RMA welcomes the freeze on education property tax revenues announced in the budget, which will save property owners about $114 million.
鈥淭he RMA is also pleased that the government will maintain funding for Family and Community Support Services at similar levels as last year,鈥� he said.
The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) represents cities, towns and villages across the province, including Didsbury, Carstairs and Cremona.
Association president Barry Morishita says he was pleased the budget doesn鈥檛 cut MSI funding.
鈥淚t is great news for us and our members to hear there will be no impact to MSI over the next three years, as this provides some stability for municipalities in developing capital plans,鈥� said Morishita.
鈥淲e appreciate the government鈥檚 restraint in cuts to funding for municipalities, as our local governments are key in providing essential services to 51黑料s.鈥�
The AUMA is calling on the government to review the provincial capital grant programs to better assist smaller municipalities, he said.
鈥淭he AUMA would like to see the government consider the needs of our smaller communities, who have often been disadvantaged by the current competitive grant programs,鈥� he said.
The association plans to work closely with the RMA and the government over the coming months, he said.
Nathan Cooper, the United Conservative Party (UCP) MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills calls the budget bad news for the region and province.
He called the budget鈥檚 $8.8-billion deficit very bad planning on the government鈥檚 part.
鈥淎t a time when families are making tough decisions to live within their means, the NDP spend-a-palooza continues, increasing another 5.4 per cent to a record $56 billion,鈥� said Cooper. 鈥淭his includes borrowing $1.9 billion just to service the Notley administration鈥檚 previous debts.
鈥淭he NDP admits it currently plans to run Alberta鈥檚 total debt up to $96 billion by 2024, effectively handing the bill for all this spending to today鈥檚 schoolchildren. There is nothing fair or compassionate about that.鈥�
Cooper also voiced concerns about what he calls the government鈥檚 lack of a 鈥渞ealistic plan to balance budgets.鈥�
鈥淭his plan is not credible. Rather, it doubles- and triples-down on the idea that government can tax its way to prosperity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat sort of defunct fiscal planning belongs back in the 1970s with bell-bottom pants and groovy T-shirts.
鈥淚s it any wonder that every major credit ratings agency has repeatedly downgraded Alberta over the past three years?鈥�
鈥淥ur province has never spent more on health care, but the end result is longer ambulance response times, longer wait times for patients, and hundreds of thousands of people who can鈥檛 find a family doctor. It would be hilarious if it weren鈥檛 so depressing.鈥�
UCP Leader Jason Kenney echoed Cooper鈥檚 comments, calling the budget bad news.
鈥淭his so-called 鈥榖alanced budget鈥� plan is based on unrealistic revenue growth of 38 per cent,鈥� said Kenney. 鈥淲hile the minister (of finance) appears lost in his own virtual reality, the fact is that the NDP is hurling our province over the fiscal cliff.鈥�
For his part, Minister of Finance Joe Ceci says the budget will promote economic growth and job creation.
鈥淭he budget is working to diversify the economy,鈥� said Ceci. 鈥淚t increases access to capital for entrepreneurs, strengthens our technology sector, attracts investment to the petrochemical industry and adds more low-cost renewable energy in our communities.
鈥淚t will accomplish all of this and more while protecting vulnerable 51黑料s, supporting the services folks rely on and putting us on a path to balanced budgets without extreme service cuts.鈥�
He says highlights of the budget include the creation of 3,000 new post-secondary technology spaces over the next five years, and the creation of 4,500 additional child-care spaces through the Early Learning and Child Care Centre Program.
