Lac La Biche County will receive close to $2.9 million in capital funding through the provincial government’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative figures which were released last week. But for the third year in a row, the Lac La Biche County’s MSI figures fall just short of the $4 million over the next 10 years needed to cover the cost of the Bold Center, which has the county dipping into tax revenue to cover the Bold Center price tag.
County officials say the news that this year’s MSI figures are lower than the $4 million projections comes as no shock to them and are happy to see that the overall 2011 MSI funding has increased by $106,121 when compared to previous years. But the approximate $1.1 million shortfall will need to be recuperated through taxpayers money.
“We are balancing the $4 million by using tax dollar revenue,” said Shadia Amblie, spokesperson for Lac La Biche County.
It was back in 2009 when county officials assured residents that the county will receive “no less than $40 million” from MSI funding over 10 years as a capital grant to help pay off the $55 million multiplex, according to a February 2009 county advertisement.
This year, Lac La Biche will receive a total of $3,138,423 in MSI funding, with $240,940 of that amount designated for operational funding. The $2,897,483 amount will be designated for capital funds, but still falls short of the $4 million budgeted for the multiplex this year.
The MSI figures have gone up substantially since 2009, which saw MSI capital grant numbers total just over $1.1 million and last year’s capital grant amount came close to $2.8 million. But going with county officials $4 million per year calculations and the actual dollar amounts the county received, more than $4 million was paid through taxpayer dollars for the Bold Center cost.
It may be the third year in a row that the county hasn’t received their projected $4 million in MSI funding yet, but they project numbers will increase to $4 million in the next few years.
“We are still on track,” said Amblie.
