Stimulus funding available for local municipalities

By Jacob Miller Times Reporter

Strathmore, Wheatland County and area villages are now eligible for funding from the province to help with projects.

The Alberta government’s municipal stimulus program (MSP) is aimed at providing funding to municipalities for projects that were cancelled or could not continue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The government is investing $500 million into the MSP that will be equally divided throughout the province to the municipalities. 

Funding will be distributed on a per capita basis – Strathmore is eligible for a maximum of $1,608,061 and Wheatland County is eligible for $1,044,622. The villages of Standard, Hussar and Rockyford, are eligible for up to $50,000 each.

“This investment will provide municipalities with the funding they need to get through this crisis, create good jobs now and build the infrastructure that will fuel economic growth in our province for generations to come,” said Premier Jason Kenney.

For a municipality to be able to get the funds for their projects, they are required to submit applications for projects they want to be funded to the MSP, and then the minister of municipal affairs must approve the funding.

Municipalities must apply before Oct. 1, 2020 to be eligible for the funds.

For a project to be applicable for funding it must have been postponed or halted by COVID-19 and cannot be new, and without the funding, the projects would not go ahead.

The projects must re-start in 2020 or 2021, and municipalities must spend all allocated funding on accepted project(s) by Dec. 31, 2021. 

According to the MSP program guidelines, the municipality that secures funding from the MSP must make red tape reduction reports for 2020 and 2021. 

“We’re also asking municipalities to reduce taxes and red tape to make it easier to start up a new business, speed up approvals for development permits and make their municipality a better place to invest,” said Kaycee Madu, the province’s minister of municipal affairs.

With these reports, if a municipality fails to make the reports satisfactory, the minister has the authority to request a refund from the municipality.

The Times reached out to the town and the county about the MSP but they did not comment.

The MSP is part of the more than $10 billion that the government has announced with the Alberta Recovery Plan.