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Preamble:
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta has legislated intermunicipal collaboration frameworks (ICFs) in part 17.2 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA); and
WHEREAS ICFs are intended to support collaboration between bordering municipalities to ensure shared planning, delivery, and funding of inter-municipal services; and
WHEREAS municipalities that cannot create an ICF by the required date must refer matters of disagreement to an arbitrator; and
WHEREAS the scope and definition of municipal services are not clearly defined within the MGA leading to signifncant utilization of arbitrators; and
WHEREAS municipalities that reported difficulties and, in turn, unfair arbitration rulings related to the ICF process attributed unsatisfactory outcomes to the ambiguities associated with the scope of services and quantifying verifiable service costs; and
WHEREAS arbitrators do not have the appropriate data and, in some cases, the appropriate knowledge base regarding municipal governance to make informed decisions concerning ICF rulings; and
WHEREAS arbitration rulings can have unintended, detrimental financial impacts on municipalities hindering their operations and services to ratepayers;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) request the Government of Alberta amend the Municipal Government Act to define “core municipal services” for the purpose of intermunicipal collaboration frameworks and mandate that municipalities present verifiable costs to justify cost sharing for the aforementioned defined core municipal services;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the RMA request that the Government of Alberta ensure that members of a growth management board are not required to enter into an intermunicipal collaboration framework with each other.
Member Background:
RMA Background:
RMA has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.
Alberta Municipal Affairs
The implementation of intermunicipal collaboration framework (ICF) requirements has been broadly successful in the large majority of cases, as evidenced by 99 per cent of municipalities finalizing agreements on ICFs by the legislated deadline.
The Municipal Government Act provisions governing ICFs have been designed to streamline the ICF process and increase flexibility and creativity regarding how those services are managed and funded to meet the unique needs of each partnership.
Municipal Affairs intends to review of the ICF legislation, processes, and procedures ‒ with an initial focus on the arbitration process ‒ to identify any potential improvements to legislation and/or practices that may be appropriate. Engagement with municipal stakeholders – including the Rural Municipalities of Alberta and Alberta Municipalities – will be a key part of this review. The ministry expects the review to take place following completion of the ongoing judicial processes.
Municipal Affairs will continue to track suggestions and feedback.
Development:
In April 2023, the Minister of Municipal Affairs signed Ministerial Order MSD:024/23, which extended the mandatory ICF review period on a one-time basis from five years to seven years from the date in which initial ICFs were finalized. The ministerial order expires March 31, 2027, at which point the timeline for renegotiation will revert to five years as per s. 708.32(1) of the MGA. However, if specific renegotiation timelines are stipulated in agreements, they supersede those established by the Ministerial Order. According to a letter from the Minister, “this extension allows time for the legal appeals to be concluded, the ministry to engage with municipalities on potential legislative amendments to the ICF provisions, and municipal partners to work towards renewing their agreements.”
One of the most common issues identified by RMA members is linked to this specific resolution, which is a lack of scope and clarity over what can be defined as a “service” for the purpose of ICF negotiations. RMA strongly believes that properly defining thresholds or indicators for how municipalities (and arbitrators) can define a service would further streamline the process, reduce conflict, and ensure that both parties come to agreement on commonly defined regional services.
While the extension was a positive step and increased the likelihood that the process could be improved before mandatory renegotiations are required, RMA remained concerned that municipalities may execute early renegotiation clauses within some ICF agreements to attempt to exploit the current flaws in the process outlined in this resolution.
Following a member survey in Spring 2024, RMA submitted input on ICFs on behalf of members. RMA’s input into the process was informed by this resolution, and it made several recommendations, including the following that are relevant to this resolution:
2. Equitable ICF Process:
In fall 2024, Municipal Affairs indicated that amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) pertaining to ICFs are expected to be introduced in spring 2025. If introduced, changes would likely impact municipalities that are either in the process of renegotiating their agreements or are required to do so in the near future based on a specific renegotiation date agreed to in their individual ICF(s). Given that any changes to the legislation would affect the negotiation process and resulting agreements, the Government of Alberta is recommending that municipalities that have ICFs with a renegotiation date falling prior to the extended negotiation timeline of spring 2027, attempt to work with their municipal neighbours to reach agreement on delaying this process until spring 2027. This will allow municipalities a reasonable period of time to renegotiate future ICF agreements while ensuring alignment with the anticipated legislative amendments.
The second operative clause of the resolution requested that the Government of Alberta ensure that municipalities within a growth management board (GMB) are not required to enter into ICFs with one another. While the Municipal Government Act already exempted these municipalities from developing ICFs with one another, Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) members endorsed a resolution calling for mandatory ICFs within GMBs. Rural GMB members were already frustrated by the inequitable voting structures and added red tape associated with GMBs, and RMA supported GMBs being voluntary instead of mandatory. Municipal Affairs announced changes to GMBs in late 2024, including cutting $1 million in funding to both the Edmonton and Calgary regional boards and shifting GMB membership from mandatory to voluntary under the MGA. Therefore, this may no longer be an issue; however, the changes to GMBs will undoubtedly impact the ICF development process, and the extension to 2027 is key to ensuring ICFs reflect any amendments in the legislation and the potential for decreased GMB membership in 2025 and onwards.
Despite upcoming legislative amendments that will impact the ICF development process, no progress has yet been made on the requests of this resolution; as a result, RMA assigns this resolution a status of Intent Not Met, and will re-visit the status in the coming months based on the expected legislative amendments.
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