Plane Silly!

I received an email from Airdrie MLA Rob Anderson the other day, asking me to support a Wildrose petition demanding the Alberta government sell off their fleet of four small business planes to save money. 

I refused to support this short-sighted move.

It is true that the current government, specifically former Premier Alison Redford, have been perceived as grossly misusing the planes.  But selling them off would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. 

Alberta is a big and vibrant province with things happening all over, and the provincial government needs the mobility to get around.  I don't think chartering and renting aircraft is the answer. 

It is true that some other provinces (namely, New Brunswick) have eliminated their government aircraft fleets.  But there are differences between those provinces and Alberta.  I think the Wildrosers would be better off asking for changes in the policies governing the use of these aircraft.  Suggestions;

• Tighten up use of the aircraft to make sure they are used for Alberta Government business only.
• Make them available to ALL those sitting in the House, including the Wildrose caucus - after all, they are Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition!  They should also be available to top level government officials.
• Have the pilots complete an extended log entry for every flight.
• Have an annual report available to all MLAs showing who flew where and for what reason.  That could be extracted from the log book entries.
• Retire the older aircraft and possibly reduce the fleet to two or three planes from the now four.

The cost of supporting this fleet of four aircraft is the price of doing business!
 

Politics and the Weather!

I was saddened by Premier Alison Redford's resignation, the other evening. 

Our province is indeed the best in Canada when measured on many different scales.  We do not need all this drama of political wheeling, dealing and backbiting by the governing party!

Collectively, they're acting like a bunch of kids in a school playground, pushing and shoving each other in order to accomplish some sort of lofty goal!  If  this was a school, their principal would be organizing an anti-bullying program for them!

The Premier made some critical errors with her spending of tax dollars in travel expenses.  Other Alberta premiers have faced much worse!  But it is obvious that Redford did not think she had the support of her cabinet and caucus to correct the mistakes, and fight back against the pressures from the media and Opposition. 

She had little choice than to resign.  Her party basically threw her under the bus.

I believe that Premier Redford did give her heart and soul to this province over the past two and a half years, and for that I dearly thank her.

To the governing Alberta Progressive Conservatives;  Get back to running this province!  Throw the poll results into the trash, and start carrying out what you and your now-former Premier set out to do, when you were given a mandate in 2012!

And to the Wildrose Party; Throw the poll results into the trash and let's get back to your job - of being Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition!

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We got another winter blast Thursday which halted our melt in its tracks.  It also froze a lot of that meltwater!  Highways and streets may not get better for a day or two so be careful out there! 

The melt has been going very well.  Water is leaving town in an orderly manner!  I see a couple of issues around town, which I've mentioned to the Village Office.  I hope you are doing the same. 

Public Works is also searching for a water leak this next couple of days.  I wish them success in their search and thank them for their dedication and hard work.

No Help from the Province

We had an inter-municipal meeting in Acme the other evening.  We talked blizzards and snow removal for quite a while.

It appears that most communities in this area, including Beiseker, have spent between $8,000 and $20,000 moving snow so far, this winter!  This is a big hit on the budgets of small municipalities like ours. 

I've had our Village Administrator check out to see if we could apply for emergency or disaster funding from the province.  I realize that our expenditures for snow removal pale by comparison to the flood damage in many Alberta municipalities, last spring.  However, these expenses come at us totally unexpected, and have stretched our snow budgets to the breaking point.

But the answer from the province was a flat "no."

I see no choice for all the small municipalities to either cut other services or raise taxes (or maybe both) to accommodate these huge increases in snow removal budgets.

I believe that the province should be helping its municipalities cope with these "snow emergencies," as much as possible.  The premier's travel expenses and the bureaucrats' salaries show me that they have (or maybe had) the money!

The Provincial Budget

A little over a week ago the provincial government came down with its new budget.

Premier Alison Redford had assured us that she would not be downloading any financial difficulties to the municipalities. I have examined the budget quite carefully, and I participated in a conference call with Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths and Transportation Minister Ric McIver the day after the budget was brought down. I disagree!

Here are some of my concerns regarding this budget and how it affects our little municipality.

• STEP (or, Summer Temporary Employment Program) was a grant so that we may hire students to work for the village over the summer.  It's been scrapped! This means that if the village wishes to hire students this summer, it will have to come up with the money itself.
• The Municipal Sustainability Initiative grants are continuing at their existing rate for this year, however the future of that program is in jeopardy. We used this program to upgrade the first block of our Main Street.  We were hoping that this program would continue so we may be able to upgrade the remainder of Main Street.
• I was unable to ascertain the future of the Seniors' Property Tax Assistance Program.  It will exist for 2013 but after that it's anyone's guess.  The program gave some tax relief to some seniors who have been caught by MVA (Market Value Assessment) and are, in my opinion, paying far more in property taxes than they should be.  Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths' office said they would find out what was happening here and get back to me. 
• Transportation Minister Ric McIver told us that almost all smaller projects have been put on indefinite hold.  Beiseker relies on those smaller projects!  But I hope the agreed changes to Highway 72 (North Road) will still go ahead this spring!
• The Water For Life program has been drastically reduced, but I understand the province will continue to fund accepted projects at the 90% level.  You will recall that Beiseker's regional water system (called Aqua 7 Regional Water Service Commission) was originally funded about 40% by the province.  Looks like there's not much money to help us out, there!
• There was no relief mentioned for small municipalities who have to pay their Education Portion of the property taxes in full to the provincial government -- even though they haven't collected that money yet!  Beiseker has around $250,000 owing in unpaid taxes but the province still yanks tens of thousands of dollars out of our account for the Education portion.  No questions, no comments, no deferral; nothing!
• I'm worried that over the next twelve months, other small programs and grants will be discontinued while the provincial government goes through its belt-tightening.  If Beiseker wishes these programs to continue, the money will have to come from our property tax pockets!

In my opinion, that's where we stand!  Most of these cuts are still in the "wait and see" file.

I hope we'll get more details in the weeks to come.

Alberta's Upcoming Provincial Budget

Premier Redford's Address to Albertans, last week, and finance minister Doug Horner's comments about the upcoming budget have got me worried!

Both ministers tell us that there will be no tax increases, even though provincial revenues have seriously declined. They're telling Albertans that the budget will be balanced by spending cuts and "wiser spending," to accommodate the $6 billion resource revenue shortfall.

Small municipalities like ours rely on provincial grants and programs for improvements and upkeep in the village. Streets improvements, tourist facilities, and a myriad of other programs are paid for by provincial grants, at least in part.

I worry that some of these grants will be severely reduced or cut completely, as Premier Redford and Minister Horner sharpen their pencils!

If that happens, we have two choices;

• Reduce or eliminate the project or program.
• Increase municipal taxes to replace the lost funding.

Neither of these options appeal to me!

In my experience working in municipal government, I have realized that Albertans do not want severe property tax increases, even though our property taxes here in this province are lower than most others.

Bottom line is that I cannot support a significant property tax increase! If the province does severely reduce or cut grants to municipalities, we will have to do some real belt-tightening here!  Will the province download their financial shortcomings to the small municipalities?

I hope that I'm worrying for nothing!

The Battle of Carmangay

Yesterday, residents of the village of Carmangay tried to make a stand to save their care facility, which is slated to be closed in the next few months.  A busload of folks from the small community, located about 130 kilometres south of Beiseker, went to the Premier's constituency office to plead their case.  Unfortunately Premier Redford was not at her office.  The media was there so I hope the message got out.

The Provincial officials say the facility in Carmangay - the Little Bow Continuing Care Centre - is too old to be renovated.  The long term dementia patients will be relocated and the staff laid off within the next few weeks.   Over 10% of Carmangay's workforce are employed by the facility.  They will soon be unemployed!  Ten percent is a huge portion of ratepayers to be lost!  It may well indeed be the final nail in the village's coffin!

In my opinion, this decision by the province is a huge step to the rear!  Facilities such as the one in Carmangay need to be encouraged to flourish.  More small communities should have such facilities.  At present, the elderly, the seriously ill, and the physically needy are being funnelled into larger and larger facilities in larger and larger centers!  Their loved ones are forced to drive hundreds of kilometres to visit their infirmed relatives.

Communities such as Beiseker, Irricana, and Carmangay must have extended care facilities, hospices, and lodges to house their citizens when those citizens need that support.  Shipping these folks off to the larger centers may make dollar sense but I think it is most inhumane!  Are we running a province for people or the bank?

I support Carmangay in their attempts to retain their care facility.  I wish them well in their efforts.

Congratulations Bruce! Now What?

May I be one of the first to congratulate our new MLA-elect Bruce Rowe on his win tonight!  Bruce took a leave of absence as Beiseker's Mayor a month ago to run as the Wildrose candidate for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills in the provincial election.  

Bruce now joins the other 16 or so elected Wildrose MLAs to form Her Majesty's Loyal Oposition sitting on The Speaker's left, facing Premier Alison Redford's Progressive Conservative government!  We in Beiseker are very proud of Bruce!

But what becomes of his position on Village Council?

First, we must wait for Bruce to hand us his official resignation as councillor of the Village of Beiseker.  Then we are given a set period of time by the Municipal Government Act to hold a byelection to select a new councillor. 

After we have elected a new councillor, we will ask the Minister of Municipal Affairs for permission to have an organizational meeting.  These are normally held once a year in October.  Permission will be given automatically.  That meeting will be chaired first by or Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and then taken over by the newly elected mayor. 

In small municipalities like Beiseker, the mayor and deputy mayor are elected by council from their number.

I will continue in my role as Acting Mayor until the organizational meeting is held.

Dirty Politics

Listening to the rhetoric coming from all political parties during this election campaign, I find it hard to believe that many of these same folks are going to be our government in a few months!

I hear the leaders of the two front running parties take shots at each other.  Do they realize that they will be facing each other across the Legislature floor?  One will be Premier and one will be Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition!  I wonder if they really understand that.

Around Town

The Main Street redevelopment program is nearing completion....finally!  It's been a long summer, especially for the Main Street merchants who have had to put up with the construction all summer.  There are a few things remaining to be done yet.  The safety railings, mostly along the north side, have to be installed.  That's the biggest thing, I think.  I see that they were working on that today. 

Looking at the street today, I recall what it looked like in the mid 1970s when I came on Beiseker Council for the first time.  We've come a long way!  I can honestly say I'm proud of the new look of our Main Street now!

This water is heating up to boiling!  The Kneehill Regional Water Services Commission (KRWSC) has a new name now!  It was made official just a couple of weeks ago. It is now the Aqua 7 Regional Water Services Commission (A7RWSC).

No matter what we call it, it's still in deep financial difficulty.  The commission has never been allowed to sell the water it originally had predicted for reasons mostly out of its control!  Additional provincial assistance which was verbally promised on many occassions was never forthcoming!  The commission is now mired down in debt and deficets.  The price of water to the participating municipalities is one of the highest in the province.  The people of Beiseker are paying dearly for water!

Our Mayor Rowe wants to turn off the A7RWSC valve and return to our well at the beginning of 2012.  That has major difficulties, too!

1. We would have to go through the process of having our well re-certified to be used by the municipality.  That could take months!  Our well water was never filtered because it never needed to be.  It was treated at the resevoir before it was sent out to residents.  That would have to be re-examined and tested to make sure that water was still clear coming out of the well.
2. We would have to do some winter excavation to physically separate the two water systems near our water storage resevoir.
3. I believe we would have to impose heavy water restrictions on Beiseker residents.  It would be cheap water but there would be less of it!
4. It would be soft water so our residents would have to uninstall or turn off their water softeners.
5. We would still have to pay our share of the debt for installing the regional system but we would no longer buy their water.  That would put a huge strain on the remaining communities on the system!  Some of those municipalities do not have the option of using well water again.  That extra strain may be enough to put the regional system into financial freefall!

I can understand Mayor Rowe's frustration with the problems,  We've all been talking to the provincial government about these issues and finincial difficulties for almost TEN years now and nothing has happened.  Other projects of this nature have received far greater funding that we did.   When Mayor Rowe makes his motion to shut off the A7RWSC taps, I really don't know how I will vote!  Do I vote to turn on the well (if it is feasible) to save the Village those huge water bills?  My first consideration must be to Beiseker ratepayers but would that really serve their best interests?  It's a tough one!

I cannot believe that a caring and effective provincial government would allow this situation to continue into the future.  But I've been saying that for years now, too.

 Let me know what you think.  And consider writing another letter to the provincial government, maybe to our new Premier Redford! 

BEISEKER HAS HIT THE WALL ON THIS WATER CRISIS!  SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE!