AAMDC believes voluntary, local solutions work best

Nisku, AB – Today, the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) released its position paper Finding Local Solutions: Examining the Impacts of Forced Regionalization.

The AAMDC is a strong proponent of regional cooperation and continues to support voluntary agreements among cooperating municipalities as the best solution to addressing common needs on a regional basis. The AAMDC is opposed to the use of forced regionalization by the provincial government except in the most limited of circumstances.

“Forced regionalization in this province has a history of creating as many problems as it solves. Municipalities have a justifiable concern when elected councils no longer have the power to govern as granted by the Municipal Government Ac,” says AAMDC President Bob Barss.

“There are viable options available to municipalities that don’t include the need to impose a solution.  These solutions have served us well in the past.  We believe that, when individual municipalities act in good faith, these approaches can continue to address any and all regional concerns.”

Local governments in Alberta have an enviable record of working together to address service delivery needs within their region.The success of these regional alliances has not been without challenges but the collective will and spirit of cooperation has resulted in positive outcomes.

There have also been times when the provincial government has seen fit to impose regional solutions. These approaches can produced results but not without dissatisfaction among the participants. Ultimately, Finding Local Solutions asserts that forced regionalization has been costly in terms of exacerbating the environment of conflict and confrontation that may exist.

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Since 1909, the AAMDC has helped Alberta’s rural municipalities achieve strong, effective local government. The association provides Advocacy and Aggregated Business Services for the province’s 69 counties and municipal districts. Learn more at www.aamdc.com.

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Finding Local Solutions: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

HOW DOES THE AAMDC DEFINE FORCED REGIONALIZATION?
Forced regionalization is any form of regionalization that is not voluntary and where the explicit or implicit threat of imposed regionalization exists.

WHAT DEFINES COOPERATIVE REGIONALIZATION?
The AAMDC is a strong proponent of regional cooperation and has supported voluntary agreements by cooperating municipalities to address common needs on a regional basis. Finding Local Solutions identifies ten common principles that underlie cooperative initiatives.

• Voluntary participation – municipalities can choose to join or resign from the partnership at their discretion.
• Partners define the region – the participating municipalities determine which municipalities will be part of the regional partnership.
• Political autonomy – municipalities remain independent and their ability to make decisions in the best interests of their municipality remains intact.
• Non-hierarchical governance – the regional structure does not create another level of government.
• Voting equity – each municipality has one equal vote.
• Consensus decision making – major decisions that require a vote are approached on the basis of reaching a consensus.
• User-pay cost sharing – for the most part, the cost of delivering a regional service is borne in proportion to the use of that service.
• Regional transparency – the operation and governance of the regional entity is easily observable and understood.
• Accountability of individual municipalities – when a municipality chooses to become a member of a regional service partnership, the individual municipality is accountable to its community for the value of that service.
• Opting out of programs – when a municipality is a member of a regional service partnership, and the partnership addresses more than one service, each partner has the ability to opt out of one or more of the service delivery programs.

WHAT IS THE AAMDC’S POSITION ON FORCED REGIONALIZATION?
AAMDC is opposed to the use of forced regionalization by the provincial government except in the most limited of circumstances.

AAMDC is a strong proponent of regional cooperation and has supported the legitimate application of voluntary agreements by cooperating municipalities to address common needs on a regional basis.

It is AAMDC’s position that there are viable options available to municipalities to address regional concerns that preclude the necessity of imposing a solution.