In the wake of a wildfire and the destruction of many of the community’s homes and businesses, Jasper is working to significantly boost its recovery capacity.
Yesterday (Tuesday, September 3), Jasper Municipal Council approved a request from the town’s new Director of Recovery, Michael Fark, to add eight new positions to support the town’s social, economic and housing recovery efforts.
“Recovery encompasses all processes: returning residents to the community, ensuring there are essential services for them, managing environmental remediation, planning for reconstruction, building in future resiliency, and promoting social and economic recovery,” Fark said.
The positions, which are calculated to cost approximately $900,000 per year, are intended for two-year terms—to be scaled down as necessary, at the discretion of administration and council, Fark explained.
“[Two year terms] should see us through the bulk of the early days of recovery,” Fark said.
Administration told council the intent is to cover 90 percent of the cost of the new positions via the GOA’s Disaster Recovery Program, a conditional grant from the Government of Alberta to help in the wake of a natural disaster. Eligible applicants are responsible for covering the remaining 10 percent of recovery costs.
The recovery program will operate independently from Jasper’s other departments but retain a “dotted line relationship” with the municipal hierarchy, Fark said.
Fark suggested that in the event some positions are deemed ineligible for the funding, there may be an opportunity to obtain resources from the GOA-appointed Jasper Recovery Task Force.
The full time positions include a Recovery Operations Project Manager; a Finance Recovery Coordinator; a Small Business Recovery Liaison and Information Coordinator; a Housing and Social Recovery Manager; a Social Recovery Coordinator; an Administrative Coordinator; an Information Technology (IT) Coordinator; and a Human Resources Coordinator.
“These are complex, multifaceted issues requiring a multidisciplinary team to action them,” Fark said.
Councillor Rico Damota relayed concerns that a fractured tax base (with hundreds of homes having been destroyed in the July 24 wildfire) will have to pick up not only the regular municipal tax requisition, but the 10 percent DRP commitment.
“Is that going to be the responsibility of the current tax base of undamaged properties?” he asked.
CAO Bill Given acknowledged the municipality’s simultaneous challenges of funding the extraordinary, uninsurable costs of the recovery, as well as the reduction of source revenues because of the loss of properties.
He said the municipality is looking to minimize that impact by working with the provincial and federal governments to fill the $2.2 million gap in revenue (at current tax rates); covering the 10 percent of DRP funding is also top of mind, he said.
“I want to assure council that administration isn’t under any assumption that the remaining properties will be responsible for either taking up the slack of our pre-existing revenue levels…or having that smaller number of remaining properties picking up the entire 10 percent of municipal contribution under DRP,” Given said. “We are examining avenues to mitigate both concerns.”
Given indicated those avenues would be smoother-going with the advocacy from local officials to ensure Jasper is financially viable through this challenging time.
Councillor Kathleen Waxer made the motion to approve the establishment of the eight term positions. She said she made the motion with the intent of returning Jasper to the community it was.
“It was made in the spirit of hope and resilience,” she said.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
