President of Alberta Municipalities talks budgets, working with the province, and what’s in store in 2025

Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, discusses the struggles municipalities have been facing as they deal with inflation, booming populations, and the pressure to make life more affordable with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Michael Higgins: Let's start right there on the element of budgets - municipalities attempting to rein in tax increases and find a boatload of savings.

What's your read on the degree of sympathy the provincial government has for the plight of municipalities on that financial front?

Tyler Gandam: I think everybody is facing some financial difficulties, whether it's the provincial, federal or municipal governments - and we're constantly trying to find those efficiencies.

I know that in my municipality, we've gone through a priority-based budgeting session. We've gone through zero-based budgeting trying to find those efficiencies - not just tacking three or four per cent on to an existing budget and calling it good.

So while I can appreciate that there might not be a lot of sympathy for municipalities going through a budget process, I think that we'll get much further ahead if we're working together in a partnership.

I mean, I can list off half a dozen cuts that we've seen from the province that have an impact on a municipality's budget - which is driving some of those budget increases.

MH: There is a flip side of the coin, because the province is also in the consultation process right now with Albertans for next year's budget.

There have been warnings as well of deficit dynamics. What's the message of municipalities back to the provincial government?

TG: It's making those tough decisions.

I know that we're getting pressure from our residents and business owners that they've become accustomed to certain levels of service. It's either we're cutting that level of service, or we're doing without something to maintain that budget, or not having as large of an increase.

These conversations are going to be had whether it's at the municipal level or at the provincial level. Continuing to have that relationship and talking it through - I don't think it's an us versus them.

I think what's important here is that we work together and understand that we're going to have some financial tough times, and we can work through it together, as opposed to maybe pitting against each other and trying to point fingers.

MH: How worrisome would it be if in fact, there is a deficit? In terms of how that could play back on what municipalities can expect?

TG: It just goes back to the level of cuts and funding that's been cut to municipalities, and that's just something that we'll be looking at again.

Municipalities are resilient. Our elected officials, mayors and councillors and reeves do an amazing job.

With the amount of money that we get collected in taxes - we have very few revenue sources- so the kind of work that they do and the ground level services that we provide to our residents is nothing short of fantastic.

So if there is a deficit and the province is going through a tough time, the municipalities are going to come through and make sure that our residents are looked after the same way we've done it for decades.

MH: You mentioned revenue – photo radar is hugely on the radar in the late part of the year, a 70 per cent reduction in usage.

How does that impact your member municipalities - especially the larger ones?

TG: For us, it's not the revenue - it's the safety.

There's studies and data that shows photo enforcement, automated traffic enforcement, does help with safety on the roads and that's our priority.

I think for the government to say that it's a cash cow or that there isn't any validity to that - I would question why we're still using them in playgrounds and school zones with some of our most vulnerable populations if it's not a useful tool.

So I think that it's important that we continue to have those conversations with the province show the importance of what automated traffic enforcement does for our communities and improves the level of safety.

It's not a cash cow. It's about making sure that our communities are safe.

MH: What do you say to those Albertans who maybe agree with that cash cow perspective? How do you drive home your perspective?

TG: I think it's really easy - if you don't like getting a ticket in the mail, you don't speed.

That over simplifies it and I know that nobody likes seeing a ticket in the mail coming three, four, five days later, two weeks later - but I haven't had a photo radar ticket in years because I don't want that bill in the mail.

So it makes it really easy, especially with the kind of signage and how visual automated enforcement is right now. Signs at intersections, Edmonton has big yellow trucks sitting on the side of the highway or in the ditches or along the roads.

If you don't want a ticket the mail it makes it really easy to not get one if you're not speeding. It's your fault. It's not something that somebody else did to you to get that ticket in the mail.

MH: 2025 is on the doorstep. This is a big year where municipalities are concerned because there is a civic election looming.

How worried are municipalities about the cost dynamics due to changes being downloaded from the provincial government. How much is that weighing on municipalities?

TG: A lot, especially in the larger municipalities who have been using vote counting machines trying to get more staff in to get through the vote counting.

How much more time it's going to take? And the cost that it's going to be for those new changes to the local authorities Elections Act.

There are a few things that we hoped we’d get the opportunity to talk to the provincial government about before that legislation came into effect. But again, municipalities will do what we have to do, and we'll continue to make sure that the voting results come through in a timely fashion.

We're being as efficient as we possibly can, making sure we're not spending more money than we need to.

It comes back to when changes are made that affect municipalities, especially financial, it'd be nice to be able to have a conversation about that and understand maybe the reasons why the province is making those changes.

MH: It’s one of many changes implemented by the government over the past year - I have to think that maybe it’s been a chaotic year where municipalities are concerned.

What's on your radar for 2025? Where do you look to take that, shall we say, strained relationship with the provincial government?

TG: I wouldn't even call it a strained relationship. I had actually had a question yesterday about a change to the local authorities Elections Act - sent Minister McIver a text message and had a response back within 45 seconds. I think in a strained relationship he wouldn't have a response back - he could very easily have just ignored my text message.

So while we might not agree on some of the legislative changes that are coming from the provincial government, we very much have a good relationship moving forward.

I can't say that everything that the province has introduced is bad either. We're getting the lower cost loans back again, which was something that Alberta municipalities had advocated for. Some of the changes that are being made are going to work incredibly well for Alberta municipalities and we're going to focus on that as well.

We just want to be a partner at the table when they're introducing this legislation to maybe share some of the unintended consequences that municipalities are facing - such as a higher cost for the election. Was there a way that we could have maybe done something different or better so that there was less of an impact to our municipalities?