Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey

Creasey said he was happy to see the Alberta government affirm the importance of the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) in its budget announcement yesterday.

The infrastructure grant program was first launched in 2007 and will be in place until 2022. The province has pledged to create a new funding system afterward.

“Just to be formally recognized and to provide stable funding moving forward, is a very, very welcome step,” Creasey said.

“That in itself I would say isn’t nearly as good news as the commitment they have made to create a replacement program that will be enshrined in legislation so that a similar type of funding is available theoretically in perpetuity.”

In Lacombe, the city has budgeted $1.4 million of MSI funding into its 2018 capital budget.

Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer

The Mayor’s statement pointed to a few unknowns for the city.

Among the items absent from the budget, capital funding for a shelter or treatment centre to address the opioid crisis.

As well, no additional funds for urban policing.

“With our location on the QEII between Calgary and Edmonton, crime reduction and community safety continues to be a priority for Red Deer,” the statement reads.

“The province’s decision to focus on rural crime will help in the sense that crime is fluid between borders, but this funding is inequitable as urban centres such as Red Deer continue to focus on crime reduction.”

Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ron Orr

Orr says the budget doesn't do enough to address rural crime, but is pleased about the money promised for community groups like Rural Crime Watch and Citizens on Patrol.

“I think those two organizations do have the capacity, at a very reasonable cost, to help Albertans deal with the crisis and provide for them resources and training and maybe even some additional organizational skills for small local communities to become organized and prepared.”

According to Orr, central Alberta, especially those in the rural areas, are on the losing end of the carbon tax revenue, saying rural residents pay more tax because their lifestyles involve more driving by necessity.