ABMunis Board Member and Grande Prairie City Councillor Dylan Bressey is in Red Deer this week for the Alberta Municipalities’ Convention and Trade Show to discuss critical issues with fellow municipal leaders and advocate alongside them to the provincial government.
The event is scheduled from September 25th to the 27th. Bressey says he is mostly looking forward to bringing up issues concerning the Peace Country while collaborating with municipal leaders from around the province.
“I’m excited to be with hundreds of municipal leaders from across the province so that we can share best practices with each other and advocate the provincial government as one voice,” he says.
One major talking point for the councillor was what he describes as a “dramatic reduction” in provincial funding for municipal infrastructure. He says if the province does not act now, a time when costs are climbing and populations are increasing, residents will continue paying high property taxes due to infrastructure spending falling on local governments.
“This is having a huge impact on both property taxes and our ability to maintain basic infrastructure, so we’re working hard to help our provincial colleagues understand the consequences of reducing municipal infrastructure funding,” he says. “Mid-sized cities more than any other type of municipality are just getting hammered by these grant reductions and a place where population growth is happening are mid-sized cities so especially, I think they need support.”
Bressey says the advantage of the convention is the collaborative atmosphere between municipalities, putting politics aside and finding the “best possible solutions” for residents across Alberta, and the rest of the country.
“Something I love about municipal government over other levels of government is we don’t have parties, we’re not on teams,” he says. “Council is a group of residents who are working together to find the best possible solutions for their community.”
As a result, Bressey says advocacy opportunities like the upcoming convention are essential in making sure local voices are heard at the provincial level.
Bressey adds that his council’s continued advocacy on transmission and distribution fees in Grande Prairie will be a significant talking point for him and his colleagues during the event. He says ATCO customers around the province are paying “unfair portions” of the electricity going to industrial sites around Alberta, and insists that the provincial government must listen and take action to ensure fees are fairly distributed across the province.
“People who get their power from ATCO are paying an unfair portion of the electricity that’s going to industrial sites across Alberta,” he says. “We’re continuing to advocate to make sure that transmission distribution fees are fairly distributed across Alberta, not unfairly put onto our residents.”
The three-day event has a long list of provincial ministers who will be available to municipal representatives including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi.
