County of Grande Prairie Council has announced their support to submit a joint application for funding with the City of Grande Prairie to aid their continued collaboration efforts.
Under the Alberta Government’s Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework, the County of Grande Prairie would act as the managing partner municipality, and County Reeve Bob Marshall says the decision is a prudent one, as the two municipalities are preparing to enter negotiations soon.
“This is a preemptive, proactive step, towards our negotiations with the city around our inter-municipal collaborative framework we have set up with them,” he says.
In April 2021, both the City and County entered a Cost Sharing and Information Sharing Agreement, which expires on March 31, 2025. Reeve Marshall says with the help of the grant, mediation and procedural costs will be covered by “about half” of the full cost, saving both parties money during the process.
“If we’re successful in getting it so instead of both municipalities having to shoulder the full cost, we’re using provincial dollars to cover some of those costs as well.”
According to the county, the grant will benefit both parties by funding a facilitator for upcoming negotiations.
