The province's cities and towns are looking for a municipal funding deal that treats them as equals, said Linda Sloan, Edmonton city councillor and president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).
"We believe municipalities are an autonomous order of government and we should be empowered to govern," Sloan said.
Sloan said the AUMA is watching for new ideas and funding models during the current provincial election campaign with the aim of achieving a funding arrangement that allows municipalities to plan for the long term.
"We need certain funding," she said. "Currently the myriad of grants we receive are only certain for one year."
Property taxes, debt and user fees have been the only ways for municipalities to fund themselves, she said, while the realities of running a modern city are pushing those costs to the limit.
"What history shows us is that over the course of the last decade those funding mechanisms have been exhausted," she said.
Party platforms
Wildrose candidate James Burrows, a former St. Albert city councillor, said his party firmly believes municipalities should be treated as equals.
"We just believe that municipal government has to be respected just as any level of government," he said.
His party's plan would transfer 10 per cent of provincial taxes and 10 per cent of any provincial surplus directly to municipalities.
Burrows argues the direct transfer would take politics out of the decision-making process.
"The PC government has a nasty habit of spending taxpayer dollars on constituencies based on politics instead of actual need," he said.
Under the certainty of the Wildrose plan, St. Albert could have already opened Ray Gibbon Drive, because its council would be confident in the funding, Burrows argued.
"I believe the Wildrose plan would have basically allowed maybe phase three of the road [to be] designed and already built by now," he said.
Progressive Conservative candidate Steve Khan notes his party has made a huge investment in municipalities with the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI), which former premier Ed Stelmach unveiled early in his term.
"I know MSI is the envy of a lot of jurisdictions," Khan said. "We are the only jurisdiction in Canada that has that kind of initiative and I think it is a fantastic and important piece ensuring that our municipalities have the resources they need to take care of business."
MSI transfers millions to municipalities, which they can use for capital projects, but the province slowed down the initial payment schedule when the recession hit.
Alluding to Wildrose leader Danielle Smith's comment on revisiting the Edmonton airport debate, Khan said the Conservatives have respected municipalities' rights to make their own decisions on issues in their jurisdictions.
"The municipal government is in the business of running the municipalities and the provincial government doesn't want to interfere with that," he said.
Unfair formula
Alberta Liberal candidate Kim Bugeaud argues the government has created a funding formula that doesn't treat municipalities fairly, because the province controls the purse strings through grants.
"The relationship has been one of the provincial government creating and fostering a relationship of dependency and so with dependency comes subservience," she said.
The Liberal plan would create a municipal heritage fund, with the province investing at least $1.5 billion annually in the fund and paying out municipalities with the interest it gains.
Bugeaud said that would provide the sustainability municipalities want.
"If you have an endowment or a savings plan that is dedicated to municipalities, they can plan. They don't have to go year to year," she said.
NDP candidate Nicole Bownes agrees municipalities need to be respected as equals.
"I think it is really important that we give municipalities the authority and the resources to make the decisions that are in the best interest of their citizens and the community," she said.
The party's plan would continue existing funding and add $100 million to the province's GreenTRIP program for public transit. It would also create a $50 million fund to make improvements in communities.
Alberta Party candidate Tim Osborne said the province has always had a paternalistic relationship with municipalities and that needs to change.
"We need to do a better job of consulting with municipalities on decisions that have an impact on them," he said.
The Alberta Party has proposed gradually moving the education system away from being funded through property taxes, allowing municipalities to move into that tax room. The party is also open to a full discussion about what services municipalities want to provide and what funding they need to do it.
"The biggest thing for us is to get a little bit more stable, predictable funding."
See an analysis of the parties' funding promises.
