These are no doubt unprecedented times, and it’s highlighted the importance of municipal government.
I want to thank each and every one of you for the leadership you’ve shown your communities in dealing with the challenges of this pandemic.
#AUMA2020
I know you are feeling the same stress all Albertans feel.
Every level of government is feeling it, and that means hard decisions for all of us.
We have some big challenges in Alberta right now.
Jobs have been lost. Businesses are closing. The economy is shrinking.
#abecon
People need help, which means demand for services will go up… while at the same time your tax base is going down.
Everything from emergency services to public transit to patching the roads is under pressure.
We know there are more tough months coming.
That is why it has been difficult to watch the #UCP leadership operate in a silo—keeping you in the dark on decisions that impact you the most.
Some of you have said the relationship is broken.
They have forced through major changes without doing the groundwork to understand local impacts without asking, without engaging YOU—as local leaders individually or as the AUMA collectively—in a collaborative way.
#yyc
It shows in the budget, where municipalities were forced to absorb cuts and take on additional costs, while also being told not to raise taxes or cut services.
#yeg
It shows in the proposed changes to linear assessment, where some municipalities are looking at revenue losses so significant, it threatens their very viability.
It shows in this doctors dispute, where mayors and councils all over Alberta have had to stand up and beg their doctors to stay in town or keep hospital shifts.
#abhealth
It shows in the changes to municipal elections, where they’ve opened the door to big-money campaigns driven by partisanship rather than local issues.
#yyccc #yegcc
In the coming days, I will lay out our party’s approach to tackling the economic headwinds that we are facing.
More than a set of ideas… it will be a conversation.
One I am eager to have with all of you.
#ableg #abpoli
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