Edmonton mayor responds to Alberta premier’s offer of help with request to restore funding cuts
Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has taken Premier Danielle Smith up on her offer to provide help with the city’s finances by asking her to restore millions of dollars in municipal funding cuts the province has made over the past five years.
In a letter sent to Smith and released publicly on Tuesday, Sohi outlines nine ways her government could help.
They include restoring the full grant in place of taxes program to where it was before the UCP government under Jason Kenney cut the funding in half.
Edmonton estimates it has lost $14 million annually since the cuts were fully implemented in 2020. The grants replace property taxes owed on provincial buildings so the cut disproportionately hurts Edmonton as Alberta’s capital city.
“The cumulative effect of this decision is over $60 million since 2019 — $60 million is enough to eliminate Edmonton’s current deficit,” Sohi wrote.
That amount alone would eliminate Edmonton’s deficit, he added.
Other asks in the letter include:
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Fully funding EMS in Edmonton which Sohi says costs the city $28 million a year.
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Restoring the municipal proportion of automated enforcement fine revenue to 73.3 per cent. The province reduced the portion to 60 per cent since 2019. The cost to the city is $7 to $8 million a year.
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Restoring funding for the DNA testing program. The province starting billing Edmonton up to $5 million a year in 2020.
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Revisit the money allocated to the new Local Government Fiscal Framework. Edmonton is getting $150 million, which is $36 million lower than what it would have received under the old MSI funding framework.
Sohi told Smith the city is following the legislation when it comes to setting its budget.
“Our city has a AA credit rating from S&P Global due to prudent financial planning,” he said.
“The current financial challenges we, and all municipalities across Alberta, face are contributed to by the lack of consistent and equitable support from both the provincial and federal government.”
Smith said at a news conference last week that she was concerned about Edmonton’s finances and the departures of six senior managers. She said the province was happy to help if the city reached out.
CBC News has asked for an interview with Smith or Deputy Premier Mike Ellis, who is the province’s manager of public safety and emergency services.
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