Alberta municipalities calling for increased library and airport funding, visitor tax

More money for libraries and airports and a new tax on visitors are among the issues Alberta’s cities and towns want to bring to the provincial government's attention.

Alberta Municipalities’ annual convention is set to run from Wednesday to Friday next week. The organization, which advocates on behalf of municipalities around the province, holds the convention to debate and vote on where the organization should focus its advocacy.

More than dozen resolutions will be debated next week, all suggesting solutions to problems that municipalities around Alberta face.

Before he was recently elected as Stettler's mayor, Gord Lawlor was the "library guy" on town council. As Lawlor recounts, former municipal affairs minister Ric McIver gave Lawlor the moniker earlier this year, saying, “If I see this guy’s face, I hear something about libraries.”

The notoriety has helped the Stettler Public Library to connect with other libraries around Alberta and organize a call for a funding boost.

A resolution seconded by the City of Calgary calls for the province to update its funding for libraries to account for inflation and population growth.

“We’ve got [roughly] 30 per cent of libraries in Alberta that work with deficit budgets, and that’s just wrong,” said Lawlor.

The resolution calls for the province to update per capita funding in its Public Library Board Operating Grants by $1.34 per person. It states the grants haven't kept up with inflation, only rising five cents since 2016. 

In addition, Alberta’s libraries are still funded at 2019 population levels even though, as Calgary Public Library CEO Sarah Meilleur points out, her library is seeing the most active members it's ever had.

The cost of maintaining library collections is also rising. Meilleur said this is especially true for e-books and audiobooks, which can sometimes cost more than print books and often require an annual renewal cost.

“Those digital resources, the cost of them are increasing as well,” said Meilleur. “Across the province, we’re having to make tough decisions sometimes when it comes to our collection, which makes it harder in serving the increasing needs we’re seeing in our community.

Stettler's library faces difficult choices as well, and Lawlor argues there’s no more fat to trim in its budget. Especially because the library is increasingly being counted on for other services, like early-learning materials, social connections for newcomers, employment services and even support groups like one the town offers for people with Alzheimer's disease.

As libraries increasingly step in to offer more services, while facing increased collection costs, Lawlor said they want sustainable funding and more of it.

“We’re not looking for a gold-plated library card. The reality is we’re looking to just keep up,” said Lawlor.