A public hearing is set for Sept. 3 at Jasper council chambers regarding the municipality’s clean energy improvement program tax bylaw, which is a financing program that facilitates construction and installation of green energy initiatives in town.
On July 16, Jasper council unanimously approved first reading of the program that’s meant to help make it easier for homeowners to afford energy efficiency or green energy initiatives by spreading out the cost over time and possibly through all current and future owners of the residences.
At the meeting, Mayor Richard Ireland expressed concern that one owner of multiple properties could be able to submit one application per year for each eligible property, thereby potentially accessing the maximum $50,000 per application and exhausting the municipality’s proposed total budget of $200,000 for the year.
“Would we get a chance to review all applicants at one time so that we wouldn't necessarily have to be in a position where one property owner is able to get all of the funding for four different projects in one year? I'm not sure that would be the best result from a community perspective,” he said.
Chief administrative officer Bill Given said that those considerations would arise during the actual launch of the program itself.
“It is a borrowing bylaw for the municipality where council's authorizing administration to potentially borrow to fund this program,” Given said.
Last May, Jasper’s energy and environment manager Mona El Dabee prepared the business case, which showed that the municipality’s participation would involve initial costs including a nearly $15,000 onboarding fee as well as administrative expenses that would be integrated within existing municipal operations.
The municipality would be responsible for some of the program’s administration, including securing capital for the program. Alberta Municipalities indicated that supporting a residential program would require annual borrowing of approximately $200,000 per year.
Given said that Alberta Municipalities shows that the average improvement cost per household is typically in the $25,000 to $30,000 range. This means that more households could potentially benefit from the program per year than only four households receiving the maximum of $50,000.
El Dabee said that she would check with the program administrator at Alberta Municipalities to see if they've ever come across one owner that has applied for multiple properties, and what the result was.
The program offers residential leasehold estate owners access to financing up to 100 per cent of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects including everything from upgrading doors and windows to improving insulation and heating to adding solar panels and other renewable energy installations.
The public hearing is set for Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m. at Jasper council chambers.
