Veer: Some wins and some losses for Red Deer in Alberta Budget
The 2018 Alberta Budget is getting mixed reviews from The City of Red Deer, with officials describing it as including ‘Some wins and some losses.’
Mayor Tara Veer was positive about the three-year renewal of Municipal Sustainability Funding (MSI), which The City relies on heavily to prop up its own capital budget. The province has also committed to a new MSI funding model by 2022, something Veer said is a plus.
However, Veer lamented many other items coming from the budget, not the least of which, she said, was the fact that only $1 million was designated to Red Deer out of the $4.6 billion made available province-wide for healthcare infrastructure over the next five years.
“This is a small step that is certainly in the right direction, but our community efforts are not yet finished because capital dollars for the expansion of the Red Deer Regional Hospital are not identified in the five-year plan,” Veer said. “The study [being funded] will likely recommend substantial funding, and we cannot wait five years for detailed planning or construction while we are in an emergency situation.”