As a municipality grows, it’s important to understand all the avenues available to fund the infrastructure required by growth. The Municipal Government Act (MGA) provides several tools for a municipality to collect funds to recover capital costs. There are several methods, including government grants, local improvement taxes, development levies, endeavour to assist agreements, and redevelopment levies.
In the early 2000s, the City adopted the OSL program as the primary method of funding for future growth infrastructure. The OSLs are permitted under the MGA (section 648) with very specific requirements to ensure that only particular infrastructure benefiting future population is covered. In May 2019, Brownlee LLP created a Municipality’s Manual for Capital Cost Recovery Due to New Development. This manual is a resource for municipalities regarding the MGA regulations pertaining to the OSLs, including the history of OSLs, intermunicipal OSLs, regulatory requirements, court considerations, etc. Click here to review the manual.
Off-Site Levies (OSLs) are a way for the City of Chestermere to pay for infrastructure needed to support new neighbourhoods, like roads, water, and sewer systems. The City collects Off-Site Levies from developers. That means, when you buy a home in a development, a portion of what you pay goes towards these infrastructure costs.
These funds are intended for use to support infrastructure for new developments, essential services like roads, water, and sewer. The City also funds “soft services” like recreation, fire, and police through OSLs. The methodology of OSL ensures that the cost of growth is borne by future residents instead of existing taxpayers.
Click here to review the Request for Information that was presented to Council.
Following the discussion at the January 21st Council Meeting, a motion was passed to direct City Administration to create a report outlining strategies for the City to incentivize and retain businesses. This is in recognition of the fact that Chestermere’s tax base is disproportionately residential and that more needs to be done to support economic development in Chestermere.