MLA Rod Fox recently provided Ponoka County council with highlights from the legislative budget, and he didn’t have many positive facts to share.
“We’re trying to get the word out there that it’s not the counties and the councils that are increasing taxes. It’s actually in the provincial budget,” said Fox.
Agriculture
• The biggest change in agricultural and rural development is the loss of the farm fuel distribution allowance, which cuts approximately $32 million out of the budget.
• The Alberta Livestock Agency will see a $8 million cut.
• Thirty full time agricultural employees within the department will be cut.
• The Agricultural ministers’ Office, the Farmers’ Advocate and the Deputy Minister Office all experienced increases in the budget.
• The Department of Agriculture is facing a $307 million cut.
Education
“Within this there’s a bit of a tie to municipal affairs. It doesn’t affect the rural areas as much as it does the small urban communities,” said Fox. The new ties will cause tax increases for some communities throughout the province will see tax increases.
• Due to a 39.5 per cent increase in the provincial education requisition Blackfalds residents are looking at a $400 to $500 increase in property taxes, the fifth highest in the province.
Other areas, such as Chestermere, Buffalo Region and Waterton areas saw an 80-per-cent increase.
Ponoka residents will see an approximate $30 increase stemming from the education requisition.
• The government plans $477 million on new schools, with a long-term plan to sustain the spending for a total of $1.4 billion over the next three years on new school, modernizations and maintenance.
• Educations operational funds are frozen, which are estimated at $2.51 billion.
• Fox doesn’t believe the province will meet its target of 50 new school and 70 improvements before the next election.
Energy
• In carbon capture and storage the government spent $1.55 billion as of 2012. Within the next few years that number will have increased by $1.5 million.
Operational
• Due to the drop of bitumen oil and natural gas royalties there’s an estimated $668 million shortfall.
Environment and sustainable resources
• The overall operational spending of the ministry is up approximately $6 million, which is still $305 billion less than the expected expenditures of the 2012/2013 fiscal year.
• Budget funds for climate change were reduced by 16.8 million.
• The Land Use Secretariat — the institute responsible for regional planning — received another $1 million for their budget.
• Funds for environmental sciences were reduced by $3 million.
Health and seniors
• Advanced home care received a cut of $4.86 million.
• Seniors drug benefits received a cut of $79.98 million.
• Health services providing correctional facilities received an increase of $8.7 million.
• $5 million has been set aside to provide insulin pumps for eligible diabetics.
• Alberta’s Seniors and Benefits grants program, including alimony and disability, is changing and Fox says approximate 6,000 seniors are being kicked from the program. The program is facing $16.5 million less than last year.
Last year family care clinics earmarked $75 million but only spent $1 million. This year $50 million is earmarked but Fox isn’t sure how many clinics will be built in the next year.
Addictions and Mental Health
• The department is facing a $5 million cut.
Municipal Affairs
• The Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) will stay the same at $46 million.
• The minister’s office received an increase of $221,000.
• Instituting the mandatory New Home Warranty program is estimated to cost $1.7 million within the next year.
Disaster Recovery
• Fox feels funding for disaster recovery is low; at $244 million it’s the same as in 2011/2012.
One of the biggest ways the budget will affect Ponoka County is through the local bridge program.
Coun. Paul McLauchlin says there’s always been a infrastructure in the province and now MSI money is turning into bridge funding. “So we’re going to have a capital asset problem over the next five years trying to and replace these local bridges.”
He feels, two years down the road municipal budgets will have to focus on capital asset replacement rather than contributions to the community.
County CAO Charlie Cutforth said if the province allowed municipalities an untouched tax base these problems wouldn’t be at the forefront. “To me the very simple solution has always been, if the province would simply leave the local tax base to the local municipality to provide all their own services then we don’t have to come hat in hand to the province for anything.”
If municipalities retained the tax revenue that is funnelled to Edmonton they wouldn’t need the funding they now require, said Cutforth.