Transfers to cities reduced, but transit funding maintained
Province commits major spending for Green Line LRT
Alberta will trim funding for municipalities while preserving commitments to key Calgary projects like the Green Line and ring road.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci outlined plans to reduce transfers to cities by $152 million per year in Thursday’s budget, while reaffirming the province’s commitment to city charter discussions this fall.
Calgary will see a $91-million cut in transfers from the province’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative, known as MSI, as part of the NDP government’s pledge to achieve a balanced budget by 2023.
Alberta hopes to shave more than $2 billion from capital budgets over the next five years, which will include cuts to MSI and other municipal grants.
Ceci said the province is aiming to modernize its relationship with municipalities.
“We have been working with Alberta’s two largest cities on a longterm revenue-sharing formula that will support their continued growth that recognizes the unique opportunities and challenges they face,” he said.
“New funding arrangement discussions will begin with municipalities large and small.”
A new funding deal could come as city charter talks wrap up this fall.
Cities such as Calgary have long called for a more predictable funding arrangement with the province to replace the MSI program, which expires in 2021.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi described the budget as a “mixed bag ” for cities, with much of the impact of the cuts still unclear.
“We are somewhat disappointed in the cut to the MSI program,” Nenshi said. “I will tell you that number is less than where we started. I’m pleased that at least we were able to negotiate a smaller cut this year than was anticipated.
“Winding down the MSI program is worrisome, taking that cut this year is difficult, but we are looking forward to what happens in the future.”
Nenshi said he was pleased with all the talk of city charters in the budget.
“I was very pleased to hear Minister Ceci talk about revenue-sharing in the future because getting that right (and) divorcing the city from the whims of the provincial government in terms of building things that we need (like) roads and rec centres and fire halls and transit, is incredibly important.”
The budget also saw the province honour a $3-billion pledge to LRT funding in Alberta’s major cities, with the bulk of the funding in 2018-19 going to Calgary’s Green Line project.
Ceci added the province is working towards establishing a “longterm provincial transit investment plan” aimed at cities and surrounding regions.
Calgary currently has funding to complete the first leg of the Green Line, but Nenshi said he hopes the new transit investment plan will push the project further ahead.
“The time is now to figure out what happens in 2025 and beyond because that will help us plan,” he said. “So if there is a program that allows us to fund the rest of the Green Line, then actually the time is now to start doing the land acquisition and the design for those stations.”
Provincial cash earmarked for Calgary’s ring road construction and an expansion of the Calgary Zoo also remain unchanged from previous budgets.
Nenshi also welcomed news that funding for $150 million in local flood mitigation projects was untouched in the budget; but the mayor has his sights set on some “very big money” that’s still needed for flood mitigation on the Bow River:
“We will continue to work with the province and press the case very hard that flood mitigation continues to be our No. 1 infrastructure priority, it has to remain that way,” Nenshi said.