Municipal Infrastructure Deficit Study

The project will require the proponent to analyze several asset types (including municipal roads, bridge structures, and water/wastewater systems, as well as potentially others) to determine the infrastructure deficit being faced by Alberta’s rural municipalities for each. While the definition of “infrastructure deficit” may vary, RMA views it as the extent to which the value of investment required for rural municipalities to expand, upgrade, or rehabilitate existing infrastructure to meet local needs exceeds the current funding capacity of municipalities. This metric could be determined using different methodologies and data, and RMA expects the successful proponent to develop a methodology for each asset type that is based on existing asset data. The information will be compiled in separate public reports for each asset type and will culminate in a final report summarizing the results of each previous report and presenting a total rural municipal infrastructure deficit. RMA would like to see any additional asset types that the proponent would recommend analyzing within the time and budget constraints, in addition to the three mentioned above. The project will help the RMA develop a data set which can be utilized in advocacy efforts moving forward and will provide RMA members, government decision-makers, and other stakeholders with a high level of understanding of the rural municipal infrastructure deficit.