Crossfield residents face a number of choices. Should we fix up Railway Street in an effort to revitalize our economy? Should we build a new civic centre to communicate our professionalism to businesses, current residents and future residents? Should we beautify our highway 2A to improve our first impression as a Town? What about water? Should we be constructing a new reservoir and lift station? Which is most important? I believe water is at the top of any list, but the fact is they are all important.
When I ran for office I never realized how much of my job would entail lobbying. Trying to help a municipality succeed is one of the most challenging endeavours I’ve been a part of. I feel like I’m in a fight with a blindfold on and one arm tied behind my back. The problem is the way that communities are funded.
We collect property taxes as our primary source of revenue. There are a couple other small sources, but they don’t amount to much. Property tax is the only real source of revenue for a community. We send about half of it to the Province for schools and then try to run our community on the balance. Of course we can’t afford to do this, so we write letters and visit ministers with hats in hand begging for assistance. Some municipalities try to deal with this by increasing property taxes and taking on debt. However, with debt there is always an associated risk. I’m not afraid of risk, especially when it’s a private risk, but I have a hard time thinking of a scenario where governments are justified in risking the public purse through the accumulation of debt.
There must be a better way to fund municipal governments.
I think the time has come to leave all taxes collected by a municipality in the municipality, without strings attached. We must stop sending money through the bureaucratic process to recollect it in the form of Provincial grants. It is wasteful; bureaucrats must get paid. This system has obviously developed through political motivations. It centralizes power and allows our Provincial counterparts to allocate funds where they feel they are needed, or wherever it may help politically.
It’s time to take the politics out of the lives of everyday hard working Albertans. There has been a lot of talk to establish a predictable funding model for municipalities among leadership hopefuls for the PC Government. I have also heard the leaders of the other parties say we are in need of the same. The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association is also calling for predictable funding.
The time has come; I believe we need a shift in power from Provincial to Municipal governments. It’s time to decentralize government and allow decisions to be made as close as possible to the people.
I recently had the opportunity to have lunch with Preston Manning. He has always been a person whom I’ve looked up to since I was very young.
I asked him how a politician can avoid developing a sense of self importance. How do you stay grounded and ensure you don’t become the very thing you swore you wouldn’t?
He simply said you must have humility.
That is my challenge to all government leaders.
Let’s stay humble and work for the best interest of our constituents, in practice not just in campaigns.
Let’s not be afraid to give power back to the citizens who pay.
Let’s decentralize decisions.
Nathan Anderson is the Mayor of Crossfield, and is not related to Rocky View Publishing’s Nathan Anderson
