LSA - Police Funding Model

Alberta Contemplates New Funding Model for Municipal Policing

Background

Presently, residents in rural municipalities — and urban municipalities (Town, Villages and Summer Villages) under 5,000 population — do not directly pay for policing through their municipal taxes. Under a new model that the Government of Alberta proposed to municipalities this fall, these communities would begin paying between 15 to 70 percent of policing costs. View the tables below to see the resultant financial impact to local municipalities if the proposed model is implemented. At the top end of the model, this would represent a burden of up to $1.4 million for Lac Ste. Anne County – meaning an increase of more than $400 per year to the average taxpayer.

Notably, the Province's proposed cost structure comes with no mention of a corresponding increase in police service.

On Wednesday, October 9, 2019, Lac Ste. Anne County issued a media release in coordination with the Town of Onoway; the Village of Alberta Beach; and the Summer Villages of Silver Sands, South View, Sunrise Beach, West Cove, and Yellowstone. The purpose of this media release was to make ratepayers in the Lac Ste. Anne region aware of this important issue, and to send a clear and consistent message to the Province regarding what appears to be an ill-conceived and poorly-communicated initiative.

Reeve Blakeman's Letter to the Justice Minister - October 15, 2019
Police Funding Model Joint Media Release - October 9, 2019

Ratepayers are Encouraged to Get Involved

When asked why they are seeking to offload their share of policing costs onto rural municipalities, a common response from the Province is for municipal leaders to contact their MLA or the Justice Minister to voice their questions and concerns. The County encourages all concerned ratepayers to do the same. Contact information for Shane Getson, MLA for Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, and Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General is indicated below.

HONOURABLE DOUG SCHWEITZER
Minister of Justice and Solicitor General

Constituency Office
424 Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6

Phone: 780.427.2339
Fax: 780.422.6621
Email: ministryofjustice@gov.ab.ca

MR. SHANE GETSON (UCP)
MLA for Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland

Constituency Office
#18, 4708 Lac Ste. Anne Trail North
P.O. Box 248
Onoway, Alberta T0E 1V0

Phone:780.967.0760
Fax:780.967.4338
Email:LacSteAnne.Parkland@assembly.ab.ca

Provincial Correspondence and Communications Materials

Please use the links below to access the materials related to the Government of Alberta's contemplated changes to the police funding model. As the matter develops and more materials become available, they will also be included here.