Alberta updating police funding model for rural communities, cites higher costs, inflation

The Alberta government announced Thursday it is updating its police funding model for rural and small communities in order to address the rising cost of law enforcement in the province.

In a news release, the province said because of collective agreements, inflation and additional positions since the current funding model was established in 2020, the cost of law enforcement in smaller communities has gone up 57 per cent "without any notable changes to service levels."

"Starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year, municipalities will cover 22 per cent of current front-line policing costs, returning gradually to 30 per cent over the next five years," the statement read. "This phased approach ensures municipal contributions are updated in a measured, sustainable way that supports local budget planning.

"When the funding model was introduced in 2020, it created a framework for communities with populations less than 5,000 to contribute up to 30 per cent of front-line policing costs under the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA). However, with contributions based on outdated 2018 costs, municipalities are currently contributing only 19 per cent of front-line policing costs."

In a statement, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said the move aligns with feedback the province has received from municipalities.

“Municipalities told us the police funding model needs to be predictable, transparent and easy to understand," his statement read. "Costs have outpaced the original formula, meaning communities currently pay less than their intended share."

Ben Fadeyiw, deputy reeve of the Municipal District of Bonnyville, located around 280 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, said he understands why the province is asking for a larger contribution from municipalities.

But he said he believes it points to a more serious issue when it comes to policing in rural communities.

“It's one of those things where, you know, we see an increase in policing costs with no increase in services, which is always an issue,” Fadeyiw said.

He said since he was elected to council in 2007, policing costs have been steadily on the rise, and that even as municipalities and the province are paying more for law enforcement, services have remained thin.

When Alberta introduced its current police funding model, it prioritized hiring more front-line law enforcement officers.

Kara Westerlund, the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, an association representing 69 counties and municipal districts, said she believes there have been improvements to rural policing the past few years.

But she said the RMA has noticed some core issues that she believes have yet to be addressed.

“The new model still places a growing financial burden on the municipalities without providing service level assurances, [enhancing] local input, data transparency or accountability,” Westerlund said.

“That's needed to ensure that rural communities receive policing that reflects their unique needs and the money that they're putting in the pot.”

Westerlund said some of these unique challenges involve longer response times, a lack of administrative employees to work on things behind the scenes and high vacancy rates when it comes to new positions introduced by the funding model.

Another thing Westerlund said she is concerned about is the amount of time municipalities will have to scrape together some of that funding before the cost increase comes into effect.

Most municipalities and counties are in the process of finalizing — or have already finalized — their latest operating and capital budgets. Westerlund said she is worried that this will mean municipalities will need to increase property taxes, or consider a reduction in municipal services.

“The other piece to this is obviously cutting many badly needed infrastructure projects that need to be taking place in the next few years,” she said.

“We know that the funding has to come from somewhere, but that being said, what's happening right now is just not sustainable from the municipalities’ point of view.”

Fadeyiw said he believes this is something that will make his job harder going into the new year.

However, he also said his municipality is in a better position to make the bigger contribution because it came out with a larger budget this year. But that’s not necessarily the case for other municipalities in Alberta.

Fadeyiw said he hopes going forward, the province can look at ways to improve services in rural communities.