IMPORTANT NOTICE
January 7, 2009
ATTENTION: Mayors, Councillors, CAOs
In late October of 2008, AUMA sent out a notice to members outlining the requirements behind Municipal Sustainability Plans (MSPs) and the many resources AUMA had created to assist municipalities with the MSP process. Soon after that notice was sent, many of our members received a letter from the Government of Alberta indicating that the deadline for Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs)—another term used to describe MSPs—was December 31, 2008. The letter indicated that meeting this deadline was necessary in order for municipalities to meet the terms of the federal-provincial Gas Tax Agreement, which will see the federal government send a portion of the federal gas tax to municipal governments. Naturally, this letter generated both confusion and concern for our members, many of whom were unaware that a December 31, 2008 deadline had been identified for MSPs/ICSPs.
Upon learning of the letter, AUMA immediately contacted Alberta Transportation for clarification. In a response to our inquiry, dated December 9, 2008, we were assured that December 31, 2008 is NOT the deadline for ICSPs to be finalized. Although that date has been posted on the Alberta Transportation website, the response we received acknowledged that municipalities were never formally notified of the deadline. Instead, we were told that the official deadline by which municipalities must have their ICSPs finalized is March 31, 2010.
As the March 31, 2010 deadline is now only slightly more than a year away, the Government of Alberta is encouraging all municipalities to complete work on their ICSPs as soon as possible. Although the Government of Alberta will not be asking for copies of the ICSPs, municipalities will have to provide confirmation that they have completed them prior to the March 31, 2010 deadline. We expect that more information on expectations for acceptable confirmation will be shared during the coming months.
To assist with the process, the Department of Transportation has indicated that they are prepared to work with municipalities that do not yet have their ICSP in place to ensure they are completed “in a timely fashion.”
Although the ICSP requirements are tied to Federal Gas Tax Agreement, AUMA has been working to encourage municipalities to develop MSPs since 2004. We have always believed that MSPs are a valuable long-term planning tool – one that will ensure municipalities are ready to meet the challenges of the future. It is for this reason that we have devoted considerable time and energy to creating resources and developing expertise that can assist municipalities with the MSP process. Our MSP toolkit is available at www.msp.auma.ca and members are invited to contact the AUMA Office (telephone: 310-AUMA, or email: sustainability@auma.ca).
We appreciate Alberta Transportation taking the time to clarify the conditions and deadlines around the Gas Tax Agreement and will continue to share information about MSPs/ICSPs with our members as we all work towards the March 31, 2010 deadline.
Thank you,
| Lloyd Bertschi, President, AUMA | John McGowan CEO |
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