To improve reporting on resolution advocacy, the RMA is releasing a monthly bulletin highlighting recent actions undertaken on select active resolutions
The Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin is a way of routinely highlighting a selection of the over 70 currently active resolutions, offering members a more detailed insight into the work being carried out on their behalf. For the latest formal statuses and reactions to all resolutions, view the RMA’s Resolutions Database.
The October 2026 edition of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin features the following resolutions:
Resolution 3-24F: Collection of Unpaid Municipal Property Taxes by Way of Royalties
RMA Convention provides an important opportunity for municipal and provincial representatives to directly engage on legislative and policy issues affecting rural Alberta. One of the most significant collaborative initiatives to emerge in recent years has been the Property Tax Accountability Strategy (PTAS). Many of the recommendations contained in the PTAS Final Report – particularly those under Theme 1: Integrating Property Tax Arrears into the Alberta Energy Regulator’s Mandate – reflect the same policy objectives advanced through Resolution 3-24F. Specifically, the resolution called for municipal property tax payment to become a condition of developing and operating oil and gas resources in Alberta and for stronger provincial mechanisms to recover unpaid municipal taxes from industry.
Theme 1 of the PTAS builds upon those principles by recommending that property tax compliance become a condition of holding and maintaining a license to operate an oil and gas operation, that the regulator be empowered to take compliance action on tax arrears, and that companies in tax arrears be prohibited from acquiring or transferring licences until they agree to and show how they will repay the arrears. Together, these recommendations would create meaningful consequences for non-payment and strengthen municipalities’ ability to recover outstanding taxes.
While the Government of Alberta endorsed the PTAS process and received the recommendations, no substantive legislative or regulatory changes have been implemented that would give effect to the key recommendations under Theme 1. As a result, many of the outcomes sought through Resolution 3-24F remain unrealized.
For that reason, continued advocacy by RMA members remains essential. Resolution 3-24F currently retains an “Intent Not Met” status, reflecting the absence of substantive policy changes addressing municipal tax arrears in the oil and gas sector. RMA will continue advocating for measures that hold industry accountable for municipal tax obligations and ensure rural municipalities receive revenues needed to provide essential services to residents and businesses alike.
Resolution 5-26S: Funding to Clean up Contaminated and Derelict Properties
Resolution 5-26S highlights the growing liability and cost burden placed on rural municipalities for properties that are derelict and/or contaminated. In many cases, rural municipalities that inherit properties from previous landowner and/or polluters are required to incur remediation and clean-up costs. In other cases, rural municipalities become the inheritors of contaminated and/or derelict properties due to the dissolution of a small urban municipality within its boundaries. In both scenarios, the original polluters and owners no longer exist as legal entities, leaving municipalities effectively responsible for liabilities, clean-up and remediation.
Resolution 5-26S proposes both a legislative review and the creation of a dedicated grant program to help municipalities offset remediation and clean-up costs. RMA has conducted research exploring both approaches and has compiled the findings in a recent report. Based on the resolution’s requests, the GOA may consider updating relevant legislation such as the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the Municipal Government Act and others to provide clear and specific differentiation between original polluters and successors in a way that aligns more closely with the Polluter Pays principle. Furthermore, the GOA may establish a dedicated grant program that is funded through environmental fines and contraventions, which would help support the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of this approach.
RMA will continue advocating for the necessary legislative reviews and grant programs that will help support municipalities burdened by clean-up and remediation costs from derelict and contaminated properties.
Resolution 5-25F: Increasing Funding for Alberta’s Libraries
Resolution 5-25F calls on the Government of Alberta to update the per capita rate for the Public Library Operating Grant to reflect inflationary increases. Libraries provide a variety of services beyond loaning books including opportunities for learning, education, and employment support. Libraries are particularly vital in rural and remote communities as they often serve as the sole hub to access these services.
While primarily funded by municipalities, local libraries are partly funded through the annual Public Library Operating Grant provided by the Government of Alberta. The base operating grant of $9000 is supplemented by a per capita contribution, currently set at $5.60 per person. This rate has only increased by $0.05 per person since 2016, significantly impacting libraries’ capacity to deliver core services. With Resolution 5-25F, the RMA calls on the Government of Alberta to update the per capita rate of the Public Library Operating Grant from $5.60 to $6.94 to keep pace with inflation and further, to index the grant to population statistics to ensure that libraries have adequate funding to serve their population base.
At current levels, some libraries do not receive enough funding to adequately deliver their mandate. Like many other municipal services, libraries are under strain due to an expectation that they do more with less funding. Resolution 5-25F comes at a time when libraries must fund and comply with additional regulations that require libraries to age-restrict some materials and make modifications to access and services brought about by the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 2028). Libraries must be compliant with these changes by January 2027 but have received no additional funds from the province to meet this deadline.
RMA continues to monitor for funding updates and advocate for a sustainable library funding model so that Albertans may have access to the foundational community services that libraries provide.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin, where we will continue to feature updates on selected resolutions.
For more information, contact RMA’s Policy and Advocacy Team at advocacy@rmalberta.com or 825.319.2383.