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Cuff Report rolling out Wednesday

One of the most awaited reports in the history of the Lakeland region will be rolled out for the public at a special Cold Lake council meeting Wednesday night.

One of the most awaited reports in the history of the Lakeland region will be rolled out for the public at a special Cold Lake council meeting Wednesday night.

That's when consultant George Cuff, considered one of the top gurus of local government in this province, will give his report on what he found in a provincially ordered inspection of the financially troubled City of Cold Lake.

Cuff wasn't saying too much about it when reached at his office in Spruce Grove last week, but he did acknowledge the length of his written report is longer than it would typically be for an inspection — in the 200-page range.

While Cuff wouldn't comment directly on whether the report might have sweeping regional implications, he did say the report looks at an issue that by default would have implications for MD of Bonnyville residents and taxpayers.

“This is a broader issue, because we also talk about community viability,” said the man behind George B. Cuff & Associates Ltd.

Cuff's report was turned into the government in April for review. It will be presented briefly in private to Cold Lake officials prior to Wednesday evening's special 7:30 p.m. council meeting at the Lakeland Inn.

It will also be available before that time to officials from other municipalities in the region, said Municipal Affairs spokesman Jerry Ward.

“The MD, Bonnyville and Glendon, I believe, will all receive the report prior to its public presentation,” Ward said. They would receive it Wednesday, he said.

Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau is scheduled to meet with Cold Lake council prior to the report's public presentation, Ward said, but the minister won't be at the public meeting.

Neither will MD Reeve Ed Rondeau, who made it clear Friday that he doesn't see the report as one for the region.

“This is not about the MD of Bonnyville. It's about Cold Lake. I'm not going to Cold Lake,” Rondeau said.

Whether Cold Lake will ultimately be coming to the MD remains to be seen. The inspection was ordered by then-Municipal Affairs Minister Ray Danyluk last fall after Cold Lake council sought a dissolution study by the province. The request came after mediation failed to produce an agreement that Cold Lake and the three other municipalities could accept on sharing of the MD's industrial tax revenue. Cold Lake officials contend the city needs regional revenue sources or alternate revenue sources to be financially viable in the long term. Bonnyville and Glendon accepted the agreement and have tapped into close to $1 million annually in MD revenue.

While the MD isn't increasing the collective tax bill for its property owners in 2010, Cold Lake is looking at a general tax hike of close to six per cent.

Rondeau confirmed he had spoken to Cuff months ago on the topic of regional services. Cuff confirmed he had spoken to Bonnyville and MD officials while preparing his report, but declined to elaborate further.

Asked specifically about whether regional services agreements are growing more common in Alberta, Cuff, the former mayor of Spruce Grove, offered a little more comment.

“I think there's a growing trend toward regional co-operation. I think people realize we're talking about what's in the best interests of all of us. If that's the case, and I think it is, then I think municipalities have probably got a far better handle on how do we help each other as opposed to how do we take all the money home to the bank and pretend that we're doing a good job,” Cuff said.

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland is hoping Cuff's report will delve into the region's issues rather than simply Cold Lake's issues. While he's hoping for that, he wasn't sounding optimistic about that possibility when reached by the Nouvelle for comment on Sunday.

“I would be very surprised if there is any mention of the Town of Bonnyville or the MD of Bonnyville,” Copeland said.

He's also not sure if Cuff will talk about the much broader issue of the discrepancies in the strength of municipal tax bases in Alberta.

“I hope Mr. Cuff talks about it, but I don't know if he will. I don't know if the government wants him to talk about it,” Copeland said. “If it's in the report, and it talks about this inequity going on, then fantastic. It has to come out of the closet.”

Copeland reiterated his belief that the majority of Cold Lake's council members support some form of regional government, and pointed to Strathcona County, which includes the urban centre of Sherwood Park, as “the most perfect municipality you're going to find in Alberta.”

Copeland said he's hoping the report will look back to the 1990s when the city was incorporated from three smaller communities.

“The city was set up to fail if you look as it from the long-term sustainability point of view,” Copeland said.

He said a “positive report” for the city would constitute a major news story in the region, but also the province, because so many other municipalities looking for a bigger share of tax revenue are waiting to see what will happen with Cold Lake.

While the report has been long awaited, the city hasn't been in a holding pattern on major spending issues. It has moved ahead with plans for a new $15 million arena/events centre venue at the Cold Lake Energy Centre. It wants to break ground of the project this year and have another functional arena in time for the start of the 2011 hockey season to replace the aging arena that's been closed in Cold Lake South.

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