Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis has denied a request from the Town of Mayerthorpe to temporarily defer increased policing costs for 2026 and 2027.
The Government of Alberta announced changes to the Police Funding Model (PFM) in December 2025. For Mayerthorpe, the changes are projected to increase policing costs by 320 per cent over the next five years.
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Press Secretary to Minister Ellis, Arthur Green, commented, “Alberta’s government is modernizing the Police Funding Model to ensure predictable, transparent, and sustainable costs for rural policing. While the province oversees effective policing, costs are shared with municipalities, whose contributions are reinvested into frontline policing.”
The Government of Alberta reports that in recent years, updated RCMP agreements, inflation and additional positions have increased police expenses in smaller communities by 57 per cent. In 2025, it spent $27 million to keep municipal rates frozen despite the increase.
Green stated, “Alberta’s government is not increasing the cost of policing.”
A delegation of town council members travelled to Edmonton on March 16 to discuss this challenge with Minister Ellis.
The mayor and council presented an overview of the financial impact the increase would have on the community, and emphasized that those increases “far exceed” standard inflationary growth.
The town says the change is excessive, unsustainable and would put a burden on residents.
Mayor Allen Malcolm requested a deferral to allow the town to adjust its budget and explore options to responsibly accommodate the change. The request was denied.
“We made it clear that this level of increase is not manageable without placing undue strain on our taxpayers,” said Malcolm. “While we are disappointed with the outcome, we remain committed to advocating for fair and sustainable solutions.”
Council will work with Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) to continue advocacy, while collaborating with regional partners to address the financial challenge.
The town will also reportedly participate in Property Taxes Reimagined: Fair Funding for Strong Communities initiative, which brings together municipalities across Alberta to advance a more equitable funding framework. An update on this working group is expected to be provided at the ABmunis fall convention.
In an effort to improve transparency on this matter, Green said the Ministry of Municipal Affairs is also proposing amendments to the Municipal Government Act that would list policing costs separately on municipal tax notices. They are anticipated to be considered in the spring sitting of the legislature.
