Alberta Municipalities is warning communities across the province are under mounting financial strain and is calling on the provincial government to significantly increase funding for local infrastructure and preventative social services in Budget 2026.
ABmunis president Dylan Bressey said during visits to communities across Alberta he has heard consistent concerns, even if local circumstances differ.
“Which is reduced revenue, increased costs, property tax room that’s been taken up by the province, leading to troubles maintaining local infrastructure while also keeping property taxes down,” Bressey said.
The association, which represents 264 summer villages, villages, towns and cities, said provincial investments have not kept pace with population growth, inflation and what it describes as the continued downloading of responsibilities from other orders of government.
In a recent release, the organization said investment in local infrastructure has been reduced by more than half over the last 15 years. It said the decline is placing pressure on municipalities to maintain aging systems such as underground water pipes and wastewater treatment facilities while also building new infrastructure for growing communities.
The organization said the municipal infrastructure deficit is expected to grow by more than $1 billion annually.
Bressey said councils are adapting to what he described as a “new fiscal reality.”
“They really are working hard to find local solutions to maximize every dollar and be efficient,” he said. “But when many decisions from other orders of government come down and impact our costs, impact our revenues, impact our property tax room, that has local impact in every community across this province.”
Alberta Municipalities said inflation is driving up municipal costs. It cited the cost of a fire truck, which it said is now $1 million more than it was in 2020, a 73 per cent increase. The association also said rising construction costs have led some councils to delay road repaving projects or scale back plans to replace public buildings such as libraries and recreation centres.
The association is also pressing for more funding for Family and Community Support Services. Provincial funding for the program increased to $105 million annually in 2023 from $100 million, following eight years without an increase. The organization estimates the program requires about $60 million more per year to maintain current service levels.
Bressey, who travelled to Lethbridge earlier this month to learn more about FCSS programs in southern Alberta, said preventative social services are essential.
“We have really incredible preventative social services across this province that are made up of both employees and volunteers that are doing so much to care for Albertans before they hit moments of crisis,” he said. “It is so much more cost effective to help people before they hit crisis than intervening after they need severe help.”
He said Premier Danielle Smith committed at the association’s last convention to advocate for increased preventative social service funding.
“We’re cautiously optimistic, and we hope that we see more investment in preventative care, because that really is the right thing to do, and it saves taxpayers dollars in the long term,” Bressey said.
Alberta Municipalities warned that without greater provincial support, municipalities may have no choice but to increase property taxes to meet rising service and infrastructure costs.
