By Troy Gillard

Town of Rocky sought provincial involvement

Province leaving it to municipalities to decide on amalgamation

Jul 8, 2020 | 11:11 AM

The provincial government says it’ll be up to local municipalities to decide for themselves whether they want to amalgamate.

In May, the Town of Rocky Mountain House wrote Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu suggesting that “now is the time to take a bold step for the better and require regional specialized municipalities” for the sake of Alberta’s future.

“Through the creation of specialized municipalities we can achieve the greatest efficiency of resources and effectiveness of government,” Mayor Tammy Burke said in the letter dated May 26.

Burke said municipalities have been “divided into wealthy versus poor, urban versus rural, for far too long” which hinders growth and leads to conflict between municipalities.

In a response letter dated June 19, Madu said the province is leaving it to local municipalities to make their own decisions regarding regionalization.

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“The Government of Alberta respects the work that municipal councils do to represent their residents and provide important services to their communities,” Madu wrote. “We also respect the ability of communities to make decisions about their future. For that reason, the Government of Alberta has no plans to implement any significant forced amalgamation of municipal governments.”

The Town of Rocky Mountain House has expressed in amalgamating with Clearwater County. However, county council discussed the matter at their June 23 meeting and said they had “no interest” in amalgamating with the Town.

Clearwater County is having talks with the Village of Caroline about a potential merger.