AUMA’s provincial budget analysis and advocacy continue
As part of our follow-up to the preliminary analysis we conducted of the province’s 2019 budget, AUMA is seeking clarity on a wide variety of issues related to the impact of the budget on communities.
For example, we have confirmed that the province is decreasing the amount of fine revenue shared with municipalities for violations under the Traffic Safety Act from 73.3% to 60% starting in 2020-21. Estimates suggest this change will reduce funding to municipalities by $37 million in 2020.
We have also compiled outstanding questions members posed during the October 25 webinar, along with further questions of our own, and are seeking the help of Municipal Affairs to get answers we can share with members.
The questions cover a wide variety of topics, such as the impacts of dissolving organizations like the Alberta Capital Finance Authority, the Historic Resources Fund, and the Lottery Fund. There are also questions about future funding for Rural Economic Development Alliances, physician recruitment, housing management bodies....and the list goes on.
We have a great deal of work to do to unravel this budget and the related legislation, and to gain a solid understanding of how the municipalities and the communities we represent will be affected.
In the meantime, we are providing a united voice on the importance of investment in municipal infrastructure. AUMA President Barry Morishita joined Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Mayor Don Iveson and RMA President Al Kemmere in issuing a statement on Bill 20 that calls on the province to treat municipalities as full partners in determining the appropriate formulas and solutions to help address the fiscal challenges while continuing to make our economy grow.
Looking forward, we will engage the province in getting the right balance between being fiscally responsible and making the key investments we need to drive economic growth and strengthen the social fabric of our communities.
We will be keeping you up to date through our Digest and Budget 2019 webpage.
