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Veer: Some wins and some losses for Red Deer in Alberta Budget

Mar 23, 2018 | 1:39 PM

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.”

Veer also noted that provincial budget only worsens the current inequity in police funding between rural and urban areas. Earlier this month, the province announced it would be boosting funding for rural officers, but there was no mention of anything then or in the budget for urban detachments.

“With our location on the QEII between Calgary and Edmonton, crime reduction and community safety continues to be a priority for Red Deer,” she said. “The province’s decision to focus on rural crime will help in the sense that crime is fluid between borders, but this funding is inequitable as urban centres such as Red Deer continue to focus on crime reduction.”

Veer also noted the increase to the budget for the new Red Deer Justice Centre from $97 million to $181 million, though there are no firm details as to why. When announced last March, it was said shovels could hit the ground in May 2018 and that the new justice centre could open within five years. The increased funding is spread out until 2023.

The City will also be required to fund a 1.15 per cent increase to the education requisition, though the impact on property taxes is yet to be determined.

As well, Veer pointed out there was nothing in the budget regarding cannabis revenue sharing after the federal government pledged that 75 percent of revenue would go to provinces and then forth to municipalities. 

Veer says continued advocacy is needed from council and the community when it comes to permanent solutions for Red Deer’s crunch on shelter space and need for a treatment centre. 

“We continue to be in a situation as a community where we have bandaid solutions, particularly with respect to daytime warming. Red Deer city council stepped in to provide a municipal response for what is primarily a provincial area of jurisdiction.”