Beaver Municipal Solutions Inching Towards Becoming a MCC

Beaver Municipal Solutions Inching Towards Becoming a MCC

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

Ryley based Beaver Municipal Solutions, (BMS) municipal administrations, and member councils have been studying the need to transform a regional services commission to a municipally controlled corporation for several years now.

Planning was followed by public consultations, and most recently, public hearings. All that remains is for all of its members, the municipal councils of Tofield, Ryley, Holden, Viking, and Beaver County to sign off on the agreement.

A new set of rules that will go into effect on Sept.1, will no longer allow BMS to operate for a profit or provide dividends to its member municipalities. According to a July 29 press release, “The legislative changes as to how regional services commissions are allowed to operate has placed newfound urgency on municipal discussions about whether to transition BMS to a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC).”

Anne Ruzicka, Program and Communication Supervisor with BMS, states, “This proposal has been put forward for several reasons including the desire to minimize legal risk, provide more revenues back to municipalities to fund local priorities, and to increase community and economic benefits to the region. The core issue is that regional services commissions are not designed to generate profit and provide dividends back to their member communities. Since 2014 Beaver Municipal Solutions, with approval from the provincial government, has provided over $14.3 million in dividends to its member municipalities but recent changes to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) will no longer allow this profit-sharing to occur.

A municipally controlled corporation, on the other hand, is a for-profit entity that is owned by a municipality or group of municipalities that is designed to provide dividends back to the shareholder municipalities. In this case, Claystone Waste Ltd. would provide revenues back to its shareholders of Beaver County, the Town of Tofield, Town of Viking, Village of Holden, and the Village of Ryley.

The rebrand to Claystone Waste is proposed because Beaver Municipal Solutions can get confused as a department of Beaver County, but it is separate entity, and provides services to all the towns and villages in the Beaver region.

Rebranding to Claystone Waste will reduce confusion and signifies that a new chapter is beginning for the landfill. Claystone was selected because of its tie to the geology of the landfill site which is comprised of clastic sedimentary rock commonly referred to as claystone.

The day-to-day operations will not change, however the transition to an MCC will allow staff to pursue additional waste disposal contracts. While the name and corporate structure of Beaver Municipal Solutions may change under the Claystone Waste proposal, the mandate to provide waste management services to the residents and businesses of the Beaver region and to provide tangible benefits back to shareholding municipalities would not.

Many residents will likely not notice too many practical changes as a result of a transition to a municipally controlled corporation outside of the rebranding to Claystone Waste Ltd.

With increased revenue, there is also the potential to increase programs. Additionally, the municipalities will benefit from surplus distributions or dividends, which in turn will benefit the local residents.

Discussions about transitioning to an MCC have been occurring since the 1990s but became more formal in 2013. The current proposal to establish Claystone Waste is seven years in the making. Since 2015, this has cost BMS $494,101.34.”