County signs MoA with province regarding CCBF

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County council voted to sign a memorandum of agreement regarding the Canada Community Benefit Fund during the Oct. 15 regular meeting.

During the Aug. 13 regular meeting, county council reviewed a correspondence received from the Minister of Municipal Affairs regarding Wheatland County’s allocation under the Canada Community Building Fund. 

In order to receive funds allocated for Wheatland County, a memorandum of agreement must be signed and returned to the minister. 

“I appreciate accountability and the strong controls that have been built into the agreement by the government. I think it is fantastic – I know I have heard some feedback from particularly small municipalities that the requirement to set up a separate bank account to hold these funds is found to be arduous for some but for us it will be fine to accommodate that requirement,” said Reeve Amber Link.

According to the agreement as worded by the Government of Alberta, the aim of the agreement is to help communities build and revitalize their public infrastructure, thus supporting national objectives for productivity and economic growth.

Wheatland County is effectively responsible for providing the Minister of Municipal Affairs with applications for each eligible project to be initiated under the Canada Community Building Fund, as well as financial statements and required financial and outcome reporting documentation in accordance with project guidelines.

Responsibility also is defined under the agreement that the county will continue to develop and implement asset management strategies and plans for assets under their control and to make use of such plans to inform local community infrastructure-related decision making. 

Funding made available to the county through the Canada Community Building Fund has been defined for explicit project use under the memorandum of agreement guidelines and may not be utilized for any other purposes or county remuneration. 

It is defined that any breach of the agreement on the county’s part may result in notification from the Minister to remedy the breach at their sole discretion. Should the breach not be remedied during a reasonable time period defined by the Minister in the initial notice of violation, the province may require the county to repay part or all of the resources used for project funding. 

Coun. Scott Klassen motioned that council authorize the reeve and the county’s chief administrative officer to sign the Canada Community Benefit Fund memorandum of agreement.

This motion was passed unanimously by council without further discussion or debate.