Rocky View County will receive about $11.8 million in provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding for 2011-12.
About $11 million will go towards capital funding and approximately $844,000 will go towards operating funds.
“We got just a slight bit more than last year,” said Kent Robinson, Rocky View’s business services director. “Last year, we received about $85,000 less.”
According to Robinson, when MSI funding was first announced in 2007, the Province’s forecast for this year’s funding was around $19 million.
However, the lower funding came as no surprise to staff, which anticipated and budgeted, because of the still-recovering economy, to receive about $11 million, according to Robinson.
“We are very pleased it wasn’t cut back this year,” said Robinson. “Many municipalities were nervous that funding might be cut or reduced. The message from the Province is they are still committed to the funding.”
The money will be used for large projects, such as fire halls, the municipal campus and roads.
“We have allocated many of these dollars up until the end of 2013,” said Robinson, adding that council revisits the funding each year during budget deliberation. “A lot of it is going towards the Elbow Valley Fire Hall and the Balzac Fire Hall and road projects.”
Robinson said the County remains hopeful that grant money will one day match what the Province announced in 2007.
“We could always use more funding, obviously, but all municipalities are faced with many of the same concerns,” he said. “The province recognizes that municipalities need secure funding through this program.”
This year, municipalities around the province will share $886 million in total from MSI funding, with $421 million going to Calgary and Edmonton. That total is up $10 million from the previous budget year.
“Investing in municipal infrastructure is part of our plan to build a better Alberta and help the province along the path to a robust economic recovery,” said Premier Ed Stelmach. “Strong and sustainable municipalities a cornerstone of Alberta’s economic growth and strength.”
The Province also adjusted the program to provide more flexibility for municipalities, by decreasing the minimum threshold for projects from 10 to five per cent of total MSI funding.
“This program is about municipal priorities,” said Hector Goudreau, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “We will continue to support their local priorities through the full investment of $11.3 billion over the lifetime of the program.”
The Province recently announced area communities will receive about $ 26.7 million in funding.
Here is the break down:
Airdrie - $7,545,688
Chestermere - $2,497,197
Cochrane - $3,518,563
Irricana - $380,458
Acme - $292,845
Beiseker - $276,407
Linden - $271,991
Ghost Lake - $90,399
Rocky View County - $11,845,035
