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October 10, 2025 October 10, 2025

Elfring challenges incumbent in MD of Taber Ward 4

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Taber Times

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The M.D. of Taber will be holding their municipal election on October 20.

All but two seats are acclaimed. In Division 4, Ben Elfring and Tamara Miyanaga are campaigning for a Council seat.

In an interview, Elfring sat down with the Times and detailed his platform for the current campaign.

When asked why they wanted to get involved in this particular political arena and what the focus of their campaigns would be, Ben Elfring offered the following response:

“I have concerns regarding the M.D. of Taber’s management, transparency, and decisions regarding taxation, municipal operations, municipally owned land and council accountability. The focus of my campaign will be to address the tax burden and spending concerns, as property taxes have risen sharply due exploded over the past four years. Revenues required to meet municipal expenses have grown from $14.5 million in 2017 to $19.4 million in 2025 without new or improved services. The M.D. of Taber has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.  I also want to address the administrative inefficiency, as Municipal Administration has expanded with three new senior managers and support staff. This has not translated into better services, only higher costs. Additionally, there has been gravel resource mismanagement in  the M.D- which included the purchase of a $2.2 million gravel crusher. Inexplicably, a gravel crushing contract was also awarded without transparency or any apparent Council resolution, raising questions about costs and Council secrecy. There are also municipal land concerns: the M.D. owns over 80,000 acres of land; an invaluable community resource. The current Council plans to break 24 quarter sections of grassland up for irrigation, borrowing $6 million to do so, with unclear agreements and potential impacts on wildlife, local family farms and communities all to benefit large corporate interests. Decisions are being made behind closed doors and are heavily influenced by private interests. I want to address the lack of accountability that exists over public meetings, forums being edited to remove negative comments, Council members avoiding direct engagement with citizens while delegating policy presentations at public meetings to the Chief Administrative Officer. Finally, over this Council’s tenure, there have been frequent staff changes, poor timing in equipment purchases, escalating project costs, and major decisions on municipal assets behind closed doors that has resulted in a loss of public trust.” 

When asked what within their community needs attention, Ben Elfring offered the following response:

“My focus will be to ensure that management of financial resources, transparency and decisions regarding taxation, municipal operations, municipally owned land and the accountability of Council are all held to the highest standard.” 

Ben Elfring also spoke briefly about what their approach to service would be if elected:

“I plan to serve the people.” 

When asked where they stand on the proposal to convert grazing lease land to irrigation, Ben Elfring had this to say:

When I ran in the last election, I gave warnings about the impending battle over M.D.-owned land. When I was on Council, we oversaw the transfer of tax recovery land from the province. The M.D. now owns over 80,000 acres of land. This resource is generational security for our community.  We now have a Council who has decided at the end of their 4-year mandate to break long standing contracts with leaseholders and break 24 quarter sections of grassland into irrigation. They have borrowed 6 million dollars to do so. The current Council is considering changing land lease agreements that are opposed by the leaseholders. These new agreements strip leaseholders, the majority of whom are small and medium sized farms, of their lease agreements. It will make many of them too small to operate efficiently.  These operations have conserved and protected the land for generations will now lose it in favor of nameless and faceless corporations that won’t send their kids to our rural schools, or shop in our rural stores or volunteer in our community organizations.  Do I agree that the leaseholders should pay a fair rental? Yes. The leaseholders support this as well. I am going to repeat verbatim what I stated 4 years ago when I ran for Council. “With near 80,000 acres of land the M.D. is the largest landowner, second only to the Province of Alberta within the M.D. of Taber.” When this land was transferred, assurances were given to protect the land. It would never have been transferred otherwise. With the long-term leases soon coming to an end, it is not surprising to see those looking to use influence to try and purchase this ecologically sensitive land. Whatever the decision that is made must be made publicly and openly: not piecemeal behind closed doors to satisfy a few individuals. It is my absolute pledge that I will do whatever is necessary to ensure a full public accounting and transparency as the M.D. considers the future of this land.” 

When asked how important it is for the M.D. to continue to develop infrastructure for the agrifood corridor and what potential economic benefits might stem from that, Ben Elfring had this to say:

“Economic growth that aligns with value added agriculture should be our focus.”

When asked if the development and expansion of the Taber Airport should be a priority, Ben Elfring had this to say:

“When I was on Council, the M.D. purchased and subdivided the land necessary for an expansion of the airport runway. I was also part of the decision to install new airport lighting the precision approach lighting and the GPS approach system along with the construction of new airport lots and paving of the taxiway and approaches. I also participated in taking management responsibility and ownership of the Vauxhall Airport. My support for the airport continues to be strong. However the project must make sense financially and be supported by air traffic volumes and aircraft types.”

When questioned about their thoughts on the situation surrounding rural crime, Ben Elfring had these thoughts:

“Municipalities have been paying the province for policing in their communities. The MD pays near half a million dollars a year for R.C.M.P. policing. My question is: what are we getting for this? Has service improved? Are rural crime rates falling as a result of these new financial resources?”

When asked if they were satisfied with the current direction of the municipality, Ben Elfring expressed these thoughts:

“Over the past four years I have observed with concern the affairs of our municipality. We have seen continual staff changes at all levels. This lack of continuity creates significant issues for organization. We have seen a number of decisions that don’t make sense. This spring, Council purchased 7 or 8 graders in one year rather than the methodical replacement of equipment that typified the past. This most certainly was not a wise decision. Between machine down time, the escalating cost of machines and depreciation what was the cost of this decision? By not replacing significant equipment on a regular schedule, this most certainly cost more than it should of and most assuredly resulted in impacts to road maintenance.  We have seen cost escalations for every project in recent years – including the recent $800,000 increase in cost for the Enchant Fire Hall /grader facility and construction has not even begun yet.  I understand that the MD is also now contracting out gravel crushing when a multi-million-dollar M.D. owned gravel crusher sits unused. I have not been able to find any information on this decision on the Council agenda and have not noted any reference to it in the minutes. This is a great concern.  On the September 23 agenda, there was a lot of information on MD lease agreements and a joint venture agreement on the agenda. This was one day after nomination day and less than a month before the municipal election. I view this as the fettering of the decision of the future council and is unacceptable. Why rush this decision when it is clear that hundreds of MD residents are opposed. A transparent and open process must be undertaken to ensure that we consider all alternatives.”

Voting on Oct. 20 will take place at the following locations:

The Grassy Lake Community Hall from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The Taber Parkside Manor from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Advanced Voting dates and locations will be at: 

The Taber Legion Hall from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 8, 2025 for Division 4 – Taber.

The Grassy Lake Community Hall from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 9, 2025 for Division 3 – Grassy Lake. 

In Division 3, Brian Hildebrand and David Torrie are campaigning for a Council seat. Hildebrand did not respond to requests for an interview.

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