Looking for an option other than incorporation, Rocky View County Councillor Rick Butler and Reeve Rolly Ashdown are researching solutions for two local communities.
Demand for expanded services within the hamlets of Bragg Creek and Langdon has been an ongoing issue, prompting both communities to investigate the possibility of setting up a Village or Town under the Municipal Government Act.
However, according to Butler, the numbers have revealed incorporating would cost residents a considerable amount of money and taxes would likely increase significantly in the communities.
“The County hasn’t really delivered service too well out here,” Butler said of Bragg Creek. “We are trying to make it work for them now.”
Butler’s idea is to create a middle ground between the status quo and full incorporation to improve services in the 600-resident hamlet. Expanded services could include grass cutting, snow removal and garbage pick up. To pay for the services, the County would raise taxes on properties within the hamlet.
Although the idea is in its infancy, and incorporation is still on the table, Butler has already received some reaction and is seeking more public input.
“We are different than the rest of the rural county, maybe we need to be treated differently,” was one of the responses, printed in Butler’s recent community newsletter.
“Bragg Creek should pay for any extra services they want,” read another.
Ashdown said the same idea might work in Langdon, a community of 4,000 located east of Calgary.
“The fact that (Langdon) is that large means that there are different concerns there,” said Ashdown. “We want to make sure we fulfill people’s ideas about where they live.”
According to Ashdown, the possibility of incorporating Langdon has been discussed within the community for several years as the hamlet’s burgeoning population faces the need for increased services, including improved park maintenance.
However, Ashdown said Langdon becoming its own municipality could result in a tripling of residential taxes. Staying under Rocky View’s umbrella would likely be a better option for residents, said Ashdown, citing the example of Sherwood Park, a 60,000-resident hamlet located in Strathcona County.
“The County can provide what it is able to, but if the residents want or need a different level of service, they don’t have to go to the extreme of incorporating,” said Ashdown. “Rocky View is vast and diverse, that gives us the ability to look after hamlets.”
Like Butler, Ashdown is seeking input on the hamlet initiative and welcomes constituents to contact him by email at [email protected]
Ashdown will also be discussing the idea at the next town hall meeting, to take place at the Langdon Field House on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Butler can be contacted through email at [email protected]
