The Mayor of Onoway, Bridgitte Coninx, says the Alberta government’s recent changes to the Police Funding Model (PFM) may “break” small municipalities.
The Government of Alberta announced changes to the PFM in December, which increased RCMP fees for municipalities with populations under 5,000 beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year. Those municipalities will now cover 22 per cent of front-line policing costs, with a gradual increase to 30 per cent over the next five years.
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Onoway recently received preliminary estimates from the province of what that increase will look like.
In 2025, Onoway’s budget allocated $49,673 to RCMP services, plus $91,662 for community peace officers. For 2026, the interim budget allocated $50,058 to RCMP services and $94,414 for community peace officers (CPO).
The province’s initial PFM estimates suggest that budget will need to jump to $72,756, a 45.3 per cent increase from last year. The following increases are also estimated for the four years that follow:
- 2027-2028: $85,720 (17.8 per cent increase)
- 2028-2029: $110,951 (29.4 per cent increase)
- 2029-2030: $$141,442 (27.5 per cent increase)
- 2030-2031: $192,358 (36 per cent increase)
Coninx notes, these are still only estimates, so the costs could go higher or lower by the time of implementation.
The town has until April 30 to present its final budget to the government.
Jennifer Thompson, Chief Administrative Officer, says the interim 2026 budget presented to council already reduced expenses as much as possible.
“We have been shaving our budget over the last couple of years and just getting by on a lot of the budget line items that we have,” she explains. “There is no option at this point that administration can be creative in, other than: it’s just going to be a straight percentage increase in taxes.”
While council may consider reducing a CPO position to help accommodate the planned increases, it would require one year of notice, so the benefits wouldn’t be felt this year.
If the entire increased cost is recovered through municipal taxes, it will add 1.11 per cent to the 6.13 per cent increase originally proposed by council. That also only concerns the municipal portion of residents’ property tax bills, which also face increases to provincial levies.
“If the province is looking to break small communities, this is exactly how they’re going to do it,” Coninx states.
She says she supports municipal contributions to policing costs, but that the current level of cost escalation is unsustainable. She also shared concerns around changes to the model’s calculation methods.
“We’ve been encouraged to have our residents call and call and call and call to get more police service, but now they’re using any police response in this model,” she explains. “So, if you make a phone call and they email you back or call you back, that counts as police response and we’re being charged for that.”
Coninx states, “If municipalities are responsible for paying more, we should have meaningful oversight and priority setting authority.”
There are 280 Alberta municipalities impacted by the PFM, the ministry of public safety and emergency service notes.
Arthur Green, the ministry’s press secretary, says, “In summer 2025, the government hired MNP LLP to conduct an extensive review involving municipal leaders; feedback was gathered through virtual sessions and a questionnaire, leading to a revised funding model that aims for fairness and predictability in response to local service demands.”
When the current funding model was introduced in 2020, under the Provincial Police Service Agreement, the government intended for these communities to pay 30 per cent. It now says that with those contributions having been based on 2018 costs, municipalities are only paying 19 per cent.
When the changes were announced, Minister Mike Ellis commented, “Municipalities told us the police funding model needs to be predictable, transparent and easy to understand. Costs have outpaced the original formula, meaning communities currently pay less than their intended share.”
The Town of Mayerthorpe recently joined the calls of concern around the PFM changes, sharing that its police costs are expected to jump by 320 per cent over the next five years. The town has requested an urgent meeting with Minister Ellis to discuss the matter.
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Read more: Mayerthorpe echoes calls of alarm regarding increasing rural policing costs
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With files from rdnewsNOW.
