Slight boost to city's MSI funding

St. Albert will receive $12.4 million in provincial infrastructure funding for 2011.

The province announced its grant allocations for its Municipal Sustainability Initiative on Thursday. St. Albert’s share includes $11.5 million for capital and $885,000 for operating. Combined, these amounts represent a 1.9 per cent increase over the amount received last year and are very close to what the city budgeted for in 2011.

“This is good news for us,” said Mike Dowler, a manager in the financial services branch.

The city doesn’t spend all its MSI money in a given year. Some is rolled into ongoing programs while some is used for new projects. There are two new projects slated for 2011 that will use MSI dollars. The reconstruction of the Havenwood stormwater pond in Heritage Lakes will cost $1 million and a little more than $1 million will be spent on sidewalks, Dowler said.

As it has in prior years, the city will use the operating component to offset the costs associated with providing funding to the library, Dowler said.

The city had budgeted $11.3 million for capital and $778,000 for operating so the actual amounts are slightly higher. These increases will be rolled over to the 2012 budget, Dowler said.

Last year municipalities around the province were left scrambling when the MSI funding came in at far less than anticipated. St. Albert had been expecting around $20 million but wound up with $12.2 million. This year, having the province maintain its funding levels means no shuffling of projects.

“It makes it a lot less anxious,” Dowler said.

Premier Ed Stelmach began the MSI program in 2007 to fulfil his promise of giving municipalities predictable and sustainable funding. He committed to the program for 10 years.

The program has had its ups and downs along with the province’s economy and the government’s resource revenue. In 2009 the city had to adjust its capital spending after getting $3.1 million less than anticipated. In late 2009 the province announced it was spreading its MSI commitment over 12 years rather than the original 10.

In announcing the most recent provincial budget, Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove said the province was committed to maintaining its infrastructure spending. Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau said the government is still committed to spending the full MSI commitment of $11.3 billion over the lifetime of the program.