Alberta

 Party  Policy  Discussion  Paper  on  Municipal  Governance  

January  19,  2011  

PREAMBLE:  

The  Alberta  Party  is  doing  politics  differently  in  Alberta.  Our  primary  task  is  to  build  a  party  and  a  policy  
platform  based  on  the  interests  and  hopes  of  Albertans.  We  have  conducted  over  125  Big  Listen  Citizen  
Engagement  events  across  Alberta  since  March  2010.  

The  Alberta  Party  recognizes  that  beyond  the  listening  and  engagement  we  have  undertaken,  many  
other  organization  across  the  province  have  been  listening  and  engaging  people  for  years.    

Toward  the  development  of  good  Municipal  Governance  policy,  our  Big  Listen  Process  along  with  what  
we  have  learned  from  the  work  being  done  by  organizations  such  as  the  Alberta  Urban  Municipalities  
Association  and  the  Association  of  Municipal  Districts  and  Counties  and  their  many  members  have  
created  the  basis  for  the  draft  policy  principles  and  directions  below.    

We  are  now  continuing  to  refine  our  Municipal  Governance  policies  by  talking  with  elected  municipal  
leaders  and  their  constituents  across  Alberta.  

The  Alberta  Party  offers  these  principles  and  directions  for  the  purpose  of  discussion  that  will  lead  to  the  
Municipal  Governance  Policy  we  present  to  Albertans  in  the  next  election.  

KEY  PRINCIPLES:  

• The  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  in  strategic  and  stable  funding  to  meet  municipalities’  social,  
economic,  cultural,  environmental,  and  governance  objectives.  
• The  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  that  municipal  governments  need  to  be  respected  by  both  
provincial  and  federal  governments  as  a  meaningful  and  effective  order  of  government.    
• Our  goal  is  to  develop  a  strong  partnership  between  all  three  levels  of  government  through  a  
shared  vision  with  long  term  planning  that  facilitates  social  and  economic  growth.    

PROVINCIAL/MUNICIPAL  POWERS  AND  RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  that  municipal  and  provincial  governments  need  to  move  past  a  
paternalistic  relationship  and  forge  a  new  partnership  to  deal  with  today’s  realities.  
• Funding  to  municipalities  needs  to  be  predictable  and  stable  so  that  municipal  governments  can  
take  advantage  of  long  term  planning  and  better  meet  the  needs  of  citizens  and  communities  
• Across  Canada,  municipalities  are  concerned  with  the  state  of  infrastructure—things  like  roads,  
bridges,  building  maintenance,  water  lines,  water  treatment  facilities,  waste  infrastructure  etc.    
• Some  experts  have  claimed  that  the  infrastructure  deficit  in  Canada  exceeds  $100  billion    
• The  growth  of  the  infrastructure  deficit  was  partially  fueled  by  a  domino  effect  of  governmental  
downloading  during  the  1990s:  federal  government  downloaded  services  to  the  province  in  
order  to  reduce  their  deficit,  placed  under  this  pressure,  provincial  government  downloaded  
services  to  municipal  governments.  

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 Alberta  Party  Policy  Discussion  Paper  on  Municipal  Governance  
January  19,  2011  

• Now,  municipal  governments  are  facing  a  sharp  disparity  between  their  resources  and  
responsibilities-­‐-­‐consequently,  they  cannot  provide  the  infrastructure  and  transportation  
networks  needed  to  support  businesses,  compete  globally,  and  attract/retain  skilled  workers  
• THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  will  facilitate  the  evolution  of  a  new  relationship  between  the  Provincial  
Government  of  Alberta  and  Alberta’s  municipal  order  of  government  based  on  the  five  
dimensions  of  sustainability—economic,  social,  environmental,  cultural  and  governance    
• The  new  partnership  would  mean  that  orders  of  government  work  together  to:  
o Build  strong  communities  with  high  quality  of  service  and  high  quality  of  life  
o Establish  a  permanent,  objective-­‐based  sustainable  transfer  mechanism  
o Set  short  and  long-­‐term  measurable  objectives,  individually  and  mutually,  to  achieve  the  
goals  of  sustainability  
o Mandate  outcomes  in  areas  of  performance  
o Demonstrate  their  accountability  to  deliver  on  their  responsibilities  and  agreed-­‐to  
outcomes  individually  and  mutually  
o Demonstrate  value  for  money  to  Albertans  
 

COMMUNITY  DECISIONS  /  MUNICIPAL  VIABILITY  

• THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  that  in  order  for  municipalities  to  be  viable  and  sustainable,  all  5  
dimensions  of  sustainability  must  be  addressed:  economic,  cultural,  social,  environmental,  and  
governance.  
• The  ALBERTA  PARTY  will  work  with  leaders  from  municipal  government,  representatives  from  
the  AUMA,  AAMDC,  and  other  stakeholders  to  develop  a  plan  that  further  empowers  
municipalities  to  address  their  own  long-­‐term  sustainability  and  success  and  revamp  the  current  
dissolution  process.  
• A  Municipal  Sustainability  Strategy  will  be  developed  in  cooperation  with  municipal  
representatives  that  will  give  communities  enhanced  tools  to  look  closely  at  their  strengths  and  
assets,  to  identify  challenges,  and  help  them  develop  ways  to  respond  to  them.  
• Any  proposed  strategy  will  include  a  self-­‐assessment  toolkit  for  municipalities  and  an  inventory  
of  resources  to  help  them  promote  sustainable  governance  in  their  communities.  
• When  The  ALBERTA  PARTY  forms  government  in  Alberta  we  will  continue  to  develop  tools  and  
resources  to  help  municipalities  that  are  struggling  in  any  of  the  key  areas  of  sustainability.    

PROPERTY  TAXATION  AND  ASSESSMENT  

• Since  2008,  both  the  AUMA  and  AADMC  have  done  considerable  work  on  this  topic  both  on  
their  own  and  in  collaboration  with  each  other.    
• For  example,  the  AUMA’s  Task  Force  on  Assessment  (with  participation  from  the  AAMDC)  
developed  an  Assessment  Policy  Paper  in  2010  
• This  paper  developed  27  recommendations  on  the  issues  of  Assessment,  including,  the  need  for  
broad  stakeholder  consultation  on  assessment  reviews;  Property  Tax  Exemptions;  Assessment  
Exemptions;  Definitions  of  Regulated  Industrial  Properties;  Review  of  Construction  Cost  
Reporting  Guide;  Depreciation  Policy  for  Telecommunications  Properties;  Valuation  of  
Machinery  and  Equipment  for  Assessment  Purposes;  Minimum  and  Maximum  “Depreciation”  

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 Alberta  Party  Policy  Discussion  Paper  on  Municipal  Governance  
January  19,  2011  

Policies  for  Machinery  and  Equipment;  Property  Tax  Exemption  Policy  for  Machinery  and  
Equipment;  etc.  ,  which  were  adopted  at  the  2010  AUMA  convention  with  an  overwhelming  
majority;  
• Several  of  these  issues  and  the  overall  principles  and  themes  behind  them  relate  to  concerns  
over  municipal  governance  raised  during  the  ALBERTA  PARTY’s  Big  Listen  process  
•  The  ALBERTA  PARTY  respects  the  work  of  the  AUMA  and  AAMDC;  once  elected,  an  Alberta  
Party  government  will  work  to  address  the  recommendations  and  suggested  changes  made  by  
the  AUMA  and  the  AADMC  on  the  issue  of  property  tax  and  assessment.  

CONSULTATION  AND  PRIVATE  MEMBERS  BILLS  

• Municipalities  are  more  than  stakeholders  and  advocacy  organizations—they  are,  and  must  be  
respected  as,  an  order  of  government.  
• A  recurring  problem  has  been  defining  what  effective  consultation  means  
• Unfortunately,  there  have  been  too  many  instances  where  municipalities  and/or  municipal  
associations  are  not  engaged  on  key  issues  that  directly  have  an  impact  on  them  
• Private  Member  Bills  is  one  example  where  changes  in  legislation  that  directly  impacts  
municipalities  is  put  up  for  debate  without  any  consultation  with  municipalities  
• The  recent  Bill  203  (2010)  which  proposed  changes  to  the  way  municipalities  set  franchise  fees  
is  just  one  example  
• Municipalities  across  the  province  voiced  concern  over  the  private  member’s  bill.  Many  
municipalities  expressed  fears  about  the  erosion  of  municipal  autonomy  and  pointed  to  a  lack  of  
effective  consultation  with  the  very  local  governments  that  would  be  affected  by  the  new  
legislation.    
• Another  example  is  Bill  202  Municipal  Auditor  General  (2009)  and  Bill  203  Local  Authorities  
Election  Act  Amendment  (2009)  
• Like  Bill  203  (2009),  each  of  these  other  Bills  also  had  a  direct  impact  on  municipalities.  
• In  the  case  of  Bill  202  (2009),  municipalities  were  impacted  because  the  Bill  would  provide  for  
the  establishment  of  a  Municipal  Auditor  General  with  broad  powers  to  conduct  random  audits  
of  municipalities  and  make  recommendations  respecting  their  financial  statements.  
• Bill  203  (2009)  amended  the  Local  Authorities  Election  Act  to  require  financial  reporting  for  
candidates  in  local  elections.  While  in  and  of  itself  this  may  not  be  a  bad  idea  the  bill  was  passed  
in  into  law  without  consultation  with  municipalities.  The  result  was  a  complex  set  of  regulations  
that  at  first  proposed  to  be  retroactive  to  the  2007  election.  Eventually  many  of  changes  had  to  
be  amended  by  the  Minister  immediately  after  being  passed  creating  confusion  right  before  a  
municipal  election.      
• For  these  reasons,  THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  that  a  better  and  more  transparent  
engagement  process  is  needed.    
• THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  believes  that  any  proposed  statutory  or  regulatory  change  to  the  powers,  
duties  or  functions  or  to  any  other  legislation  directly  affecting  municipal  powers,  duties  or  
functions,  shall  only  be  supported  in  the  Legislature,  or  submitted  to  the  regulatory  process,  

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 Alberta  Party  Policy  Discussion  Paper  on  Municipal  Governance  
January  19,  2011  

after  it  has  being  reviewed  and  recommended  in  accordance  with  a  sound  analysis  of  the  
amendment’s  impact  and  after  an  effective  and  inclusive  engagement  process.  

PROVINCIAL  STANDARDS  

THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  is  guided  by  the  following  eight  principles:  

1. Municipal  Governments  must  have  the  fiscal  capacity  to  fulfill  their  mandate  through:  primary  
access  to  the  property  tax  base;  and  sustainable,  predictable,  long-­‐term  sources  of  revenue      
2. The  federal  and  provincial  governments  have  sole  responsibility  for  direct  income  redistribution  
programs  and  services.  
3. The  primary  focus  of  local  government  is  to  provide  locally  oriented  services  to  people  and  
property.  
4. Each  local  council  will  maintain  responsibility  for  the  establishment  of  local  standards  of  services  
to  people  and  property.  
5. Any  new  standards  or  requirements  imposed  by  the  provincial  order  of  government  should  be  
funded  by  that  order  of  government  
6. Amendments  and  changes  to  legislation  and  regulations  relating  to  municipal  governments  shall  
only  proceed  when  THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  has  encouraged  the  active  participation  of  those  
affected  by  such  changes  and  agreed,  through  meaningful  input  in  a  review  process.  
7. Responsible  stewardship  of  our  ecological  systems  is  essential  to  the  economic  viability,  quality  
of  life  and  sustainability  of  Albertan  communities.  
8. Quality  infrastructure  is  critical  to  supporting  healthy,  financially  sustainable  communities,  and  
strengthens  the  quality  of  life  for  all  Albertans,  and  is  the  foundation  for  the  Alberta  Advantage.  

THE  ALBERTA  PARTY  uses  these  principles  as  a  touchstone  for  evaluating  our  policy  positions  on  
Municipal  Governance.    

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