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Ponoka not backing down in funding fight with province

Jan 31, 2019 | 10:55 AM

Rick Bonnett says it’s not just his town that’s being treated unfairly by the provincial government.

Ponoka’s mayor continues to rally support in his push for changes to the grant funding process for rural municipalities after town council made the bold decision in November to withhold education tax revenue from the province over the issue.

The move came after the province told Ponoka to use Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding to pay for a new fieldhouse.

“We took exception with that,” Bonnett explained. “That’s when we decided to start looking at our other options and talking about withholding school tax.”

Bonnett says the way smaller Alberta municipalities such as Ponoka are treated is unfair compared to the big cities.

“Calgary and Edmonton have gotten extra GreenTrip funding for transportation. Red Deer has seen some funding for Canada Winter Games and stuff like that – which is good to see that Red Deer is finally starting to get treated a little bit better.

“Our MSI funding is our lifeblood and essential to the workings of our communities. When we have to use it to do a one-off project it affects the long-term of our roads and sewers and bridges and so on.”

Bonnett says the proposed fieldhouse project is an economic driver for Ponoka that should be funded outside the scope of MSI grant funding.

“In October we had meetings with the municipal affairs, infrastructure and finance ministers. They basically said that they liked our project (and)  thought it was well worth looking into, but that if we didn’t use our MSI funding we would be overpassed. At that time our council made the decision to start withholding the school tax funds to see if we could change their mind.

“Now they’ve sent us a letter saying no and that they will start taking out punitive punishment on us in March if we don’t pay,” he says in reference to a Jan. 10 letter saying Ponoka will see no provincial grant funding it may be eligible for until school tax revenue is handed over.

“All municipalities, no matter how big or small, receive MSI funding based on a formula. It is up to each community to determine how they chose to allocate their MSI dollars and which infrastructure projects they prioritize,” government spokesperson Lauren Ascott told rdnewsNOW in a statement.

“Ultimately, the Town of Ponoka’s decision to withhold education property tax is against the law.  Municipalities are legally required to submit tax money they collect on the province’s behalf. Under the School Act and the Municipal Affairs grants regulation, the province has the authority to withhold any outstanding grant money to the town to offset the amount owed to the government. This has been clearly communicated to the municipality.”

Bonnett says the Town is exploring its options when it comes to what’s next. He’s met with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and other similar-sized communities in a bid to gather support for more equitable funding.

So far Stettler, Rimbey and Lacombe have expressed their support. Bonnett plans to meet with Sylvan Lake and Blackfalds before reaching out to other parts of the province.

“There seems to be a buzz over what we’re doing – if it’s the right way to go about it or not. Right now, being that it’s an election year, we look at it as an opportunity to at least get the conversation started,” Bonnett concedes. “Whether it’s going to be this government or a new government in six months we’re going to be front and centre making sure that communities are adhered to going forward.”

AUMA President Barry Morishita says they are working with the province to develop a new municipal funding framework to replace MSI.

“AUMA wants a framework similar to what was provided to the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary through the City Charters Fiscal Framework Act,” Morishita says. “A framework that offers adequate levels of funding, increased predictability for multi-year financial planning, and long-term growth of the funding in alignment with Alberta’s economy.”

Bonnett says that’s exactly what he’s looking for from the province.

“They keep asking us for three and five-year projections on our budgets but they never tell us what our funding is going to be year to year. We need to have a good, solid plan going forward from the provincial government instead of these little one-offs.”