The way in which the City of St. Albert will feel the expected provincial budget cuts is yet unknown.
Provincial Finance Minister Robin Campbell made it known earlier this week that a five per cent cut is coming. There’s also a plan to not increase the budget like usual to accommodate for inflation and population growth, which is about a four per cent hold-back, for a likely total nine per cent cut from the provincial budget.
The cuts are the result of a multi-billion dollar hole in the provincial budget being left by the drop in oil prices.
What impact such a cut could have on infrastructure funding and grants for the municipal governments of the province isn’t yet clear.
Matthew Grant, press secretary to Municipal Affairs Minister Diana McQueen, said the minister has been talking to stakeholders.
“She has let them know that she understands their concerns over infrastructure, MSI (municipal sustainability initiative grants), things like that as they’ve actually voiced those concerns, but at this point no decisions have been made and everything’s on the table,” Grant said.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse said this could mean a variety of things for St. Albert. Does it mean a nine per cent cut across the board? Will the new school building budgets take a hit? Could grants be cut, or the province’s portion of the family and community support services funding?
“In fairness I don’t think we’ve seen the detail yet to be able to know how to react and how to adjust,” Crouse said.
“The delivery of services may get downloaded onto the municipalities across the province and I think we need to understand that,” he said.
There’s a lot of questions and answers needed from the province, Crouse said.
The provincial budget is now expected to be released in late March.
