Funding
Funding
In Alberta, municipalities have a variety of responsibilities for the costs of municipal policing services, as outlined in the following table:
| Municipal Population | Policing Arrangement | Municipal Responsibility for Policing Costs |
| Over 50,000 | Stand-alone or regional municipal police service |
Municipality pays 100% Funding Grants provided by the Government of Alberta |
| Over 15,000 | Municipal Police Service Agreement with RCMP |
Municipality pays 90% Federal government pays 10% Funding Grants provided by the Government of Alberta |
| 5,001 to 15,000 | Municipal Police Service Agreement with RCMP |
Municipality pays 70% Federal government pays 30% Funding Grants provided by the Government of Alberta |
| 5,000 and under | Provincial Police Service Agreement with RCMP | Municipality covers 10 – 30% of policing costs in accordance with police funding model |
Several municipalities hire their own community peace officers and/or contract for RCMP enhanced policing. In these cases, municipalities are responsible for the full costs of additional policing.
Under the 2012 Provincial Police Service Agreement, which is in effect until 2032, municipalities that have never been policed by the RCMP must cover 100% of the costs of policing upon first contracting with the RCMP.
Municipal Police Assistance Grant (MPAG) Program
The objectives of the MPAG are to help communities better meet the costs of policing services, and support government's commitment to address the financial impact of policing on municipalities. The municipality is expected to use the funds to ensure it has adequate and effective policing and policing oversight, assist in implementation of provincial policing initiatives, and/or enhance policing services to its residents.
All municipalities that pay some or all of the costs of their policing qualify for this program. Recipients must provide reports on how the grant funds were used. The grant is issued annually to all eligible municipalities and no application is required.
MPAG financial assistance is based on the following thresholds:
- Towns and cities with a population from 5,001 to 16,666 receive a $200,000 base payment plus an additional $8.00 per capita.
- Cities and urban service areas with a population from 16,667 to 50,000 receive a $100,000 base payment plus $14.00 per capita.
- Cities and urban service areas with a population over 50,000 receive grants of $16.00 per capita.
Police Officers Grant
Municipalities responsible for providing their own municipal policing (i.e. municipalities with populations over 5,000) are eligible for this grant.
No applications are required and the program provides a grant to the municipality of up to $100,000 per position, per year. This funding is ongoing but grant amounts depend on funding allocations each year.