(Image Credit: CFJC)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Very skeptical

Rimbey mayor not buying what province is selling on policing announcement

Jan 16, 2026 | 12:47 PM

The Alberta government’s recent announcement of a modernized police funding model (PFM) for small municipalities is not sitting well with at least one central Alberta mayor.

Announced late last month, the government says that starting in 2026-27, smaller municipalities, typically under 5,000 people, will cover 22 per cent of front-line policing costs.

That will rise gradually to 30 per cent over five years — a phased approach the province says will ensure services remain effective and sustainable for rural areas, and that supports local budget planning.

As the province explained, when the current funding model was introduced in 2020, under the Provincial Police Service Agreement, it intended for these communities to pay 30 per cent.

They now say that with those contributions having been based on 2018 costs, municipalities are only paying 19 per cent.

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“Municipalities told us the police funding model needs to be predictable, transparent and easy to understand. Costs have outpaced the original formula, meaning communities currently pay less than their intended share,” Mike Ellis, minister of public safety and emergency services, said in December.

“As policing costs continue to rise, funding front-line policing remains a shared responsibility between the province and municipalities. These updates align municipal contributions with current costs and ensure every dollar collected goes directly to front-line policing in rural communities.”

Rimbey Mayor Rick Pankiw noted in an interview with rdnewsNOW in late 2024 that there was a time when smaller municipalities didn’t have to pay anything for policing, because of their size.

In a new interview, Pankiw says what the province is doing now is more evidence they are gearing toward a provincial police force, which many municipalities have said is an undesirable option.

“This is a big deal to us. Where do we come up with this money? To me, it’s just another download from the province to municipalities,” said Pankiw, who’s been mayor for over a decade.

“Are we actually going to have a say on anything? It’s nice to say we’re going to have a police commission, but if we’re paying, and we have no say again, it just doesn’t seem to work.”

Pankiw says they’ve also asked the province over the last couple years about the prospect of losing their eight-member detachment, but haven’t received a clear answer.

But if his taxpayers are going to be asked to pay 30 per cent, then he doesn’t believe they should be receiving policing from somewhere out of town.

According to provincial data, Rimbey had a population of 2,571 in 2024. Paying 19 per cent, the municipality budgeted $168,000 for policing last year.

Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis; formerly AUMA) also responded to the government’s announcement, stating that it highlights the financial pressure increased policing costs are causing smaller municipalities.

“Financial pressures such as those created by the PFM are what prompted us to launch our Property Taxes Reimagined initiative in October 2025. The initiative provides an overview of the various factors that, over the past 15 years, led to the fiscal dilemma many municipal councils currently find themselves in,” said Dylan Bressey, ABMunis president on behalf of the board.

“We have concerns about the timing, implementation and rollout of the PFM. Many municipalities have just set their annual budgets for 2026. When it comes to policing, an important principle is that our members have ‘say with pay.’ In this instance, the provincial government prioritized payment over governance. To date, municipalities have not had the input necessary to have confidence that their financial contributions are improving local community safety.”

Bressey says investments in crime prevention could be one way to “bend the cost curve” on policing.

“That’s why we’re optimistic that the Government of Alberta will increase its annual funding for Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) by about 60 per cent in the 2026 Budget (from about $105 million/year to $161.5 million/year) so communities can deliver more evidence-based, preventative support services that reduce demand on more costly services like crisis intervention and policing,” Bressey added.

ABMunis will continue to analyze the funding model, they say in a statement.

There are 280 Alberta municipalities impacted by the PFM, Ellis’s ministry notes.

Arthur Green, the ministry’s press secretary, says while costs were frozen in 2025, the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service was established to augment and support all law enforcement.

That freeze meant the government absorbed approximately $27 million in costs, he adds.

“In summer 2025, the government hired MNP LLP to conduct an extensive review involving municipal leaders; feedback was gathered through virtual sessions and a questionnaire, leading to a revised funding model that aims for fairness and predictability in response to local service demands,” Green says.

Mayor Pankiw says Rimbey was not consulted.