Alberta cities, towns and villages want bolder political infrastructure promises

As provincial party leaders tried to woo municipal councillors, the president of Alberta Municipalities says there are gaps in some of their political promises.

President Cathy Heron says municipal leaders want more detail on how the province will help cities, towns and villages keep up with the cost of building recreation centres and fire halls, and maintain roads, water and sewer systems.

"I get that sometimes garbage pickup and sewer is not a sexy conversation, but it's an important conversation," Heron told reporters on Friday. "You want your toilets to flush and you want clean water coming out of your tap."

More than 300 people at the Alberta Municipalities spring convention in Edmonton Friday heard competing visions from United Conservative Party leader and Premier Danielle Smith and NDP leader Rachel Notley.

Smith rattled off a list of improvements she says her government has made to ambulance turnaround times, waiting lists for surgery and new limits on how the province can spend any surpluses.

Notley criticized the UCP government for downloading costs onto municipalities and pledged that an NDP government would be a more capable partner.

Heron said councils want increased funding for municipal infrastructure, improvement in health-care services, and clarity on policing.

Although it has for years explored the possibility of creating an Alberta provincial police service to replace the RCMP, the government recently turned its attention to encouraging communities to explore which policing models are right for them.

Twelve communities so far have applied for provincial grants of up to $30,000 to explore whether creating a locally run police force is viable, said Dylan Topal, press secretary for public safety and emergency services, in an email last week.

Seven of the applicants are First Nations or treaty organizations, he said.

Heron said the NDP has ruled out the possibility of provincial police, but the UCP has not — and most communities want to keep the RCMP, she said.

Heron said some municipalities may be considering creating a local police force to avoid being part of a swap to provincial police.

She said members also want to keep political parties out of municipal politics in Alberta.

"We don't want to be beholden to an ideology," she said. "Every issue is very different and every community is very different."

Municipalities want more funding for social programs

Local leaders also asked the provincial politicians for a boost to the family and community support services program (FCSS).

The province committed $105 million for the coming year for municipalities to run local social programs, including seniors' support groups, after-school clubs, family support classes, and more. The premier noted the amount hasn't changed much since she was leader of the Opposition a decade ago.

Municipalities cost share the FCSS program by footing 20 per cent of the bill.

Heron says some councils are contributing more than that to help keep the programs afloat as costs rise.

Notley said an NDP government would immediately raise the provincial contribution by 50 per cent, should voters choose them in the May 29 provincial election.

"If there was ever a time it needed a boost, quite frankly it's right now," she said.

Smith called FCSS one of her "favourite programs." She didn't commit to a dollar figure, saying she'd first need to negotiate with municipalities to see how much of an increase they could afford for their share of the program.

The premier also said the province will have to help municipalities in the future cope with networks of aging water and sewer infrastructure, as they can't afford it on their own. She did not provide a timeline or a dollar figure.