Projected 320% hike in policing costs concerning central Alberta town

The Town of Mayerthorpe says the province's proposed police funding model would raise policing costs by 320 per cent. CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg reports.

A municipality in central Alberta is concerned for the future of its taxpayers amid changes to the province’s police funding model which town officials say would raise local contributions by 320 per cent.

On Wednesday, the Town of Mayerthorpe released a statement saying council had received policing cost projections that exceed standard inflationary growth and would place “an unsustainable burden on local taxpayers.”

Deputy mayor Rebecca Wells says the town’s council was shown a cost formula, indicating the rise over five years, from chief administrative officer Chris Leggett.

“That’s a huge financial impact that we have not budgeted or allocated money,” she said in an interview Friday, adding council found out about the increase a month after their budget had already passed.

“It means there may be an increase (to taxes), because otherwise services will have to be cut somewhere, and we’re not sure where those services are going to be cut.”

The town’s council members have scheduled a meeting with Mike Ellis, the provincial public safety minister, on March 16 with the goal of discussing a more sustainable financial plan for rural municipalities.

“We want to know why it’s going up 320 per cent, and what are we going to get for this extra money? Are we going to get more policing? What is this covering?” Wells said.

“As a taxpayer, I want to know where this money is going and I think the government should answer those questions. I would like to see more policing in our community. Our RCMP officers are phenomenal.”

At the end of December, the Alberta government announced it would be raising municipal contributions of front-line policing costs on April 1 to compensate for what it said was years of towns not paying their intended share.

A 2020 funding model outlined that communities with populations less than 5,000 would contribute up to 30 per cent of front-line policing costs under the Provincial Police Service Agreement.

But the provincial government says between rising costs following RCMP collective agreements and inflation, the current contributions of those communities are closer to 19 per cent instead.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton Friday, ministry of public safety press secretary Arthur Green said the “real driver” of projected increases in municipalities like Mayerthorpe is a 57-per-cent cost hike in RCMP contracts.

“Alberta’s government is not increasing the cost of policing,” he wrote. “Recognizing these fiscal pressures, contributions will be phased in gradually, and tied to actual policing costs from the most recent fiscal year.”

The new changes come April will see most municipalities contribute 22 per cent, gradually working up to 30 per cent over the next five years.

Changing face of rural policing

An independent provincial police service, the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS), has been in the works since July 2025.

Ellis previously told media that legal momentum with ASPS – a bill was tabled in October to further establish the project – was meant to bolster those acting in police-adjacent roles, like peace officers.

Read more: What could a provincial policing model look like in Alberta?

Green further added on Friday that the ASPS was established to support law enforcement across the province, and the government would continue working with rural municipalities to ease rising police costs.

“If municipalities want to continue with their current police of jurisdiction, they can,” he said. “But if they want to explore another option – that choice should be available to them.”

Wells said Mayerthorpe would likely have to hike their taxes even more to afford their own police force.

“I don’t think the people want provincial policing, is what I’ve heard from the community … we’d have to do a whole revamp of our budget. And realistically, we don’t have enough money anyway.”

In 2024-25, Alberta put $332.3 million toward provincial police funding. Municipalities contributed about $67.3 million.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg and Angela Amato