2012 Perspectives Magazine - Manitoba Heavy Construction ...

Manitoba Fund, and support in several
other areas. Tri-partite arrangements
with the other two orders of government
make many municipal projects possible.
The only catch is the fact that most times,
the demand for funding far outweighs
the supply of dollars, leaving many
municipalities out in the cold.
I have always maintained that municipalities
must do what they can first, before looking
for a handout. And Manitoba communities
are indeed doing that.
Some have tried to take advantage of
provincial legislation within The Municipal
Revenue Act to impose taxes on various
things like accommodations, meals, alcohol
and land transfers. The City of Thompson, for
example, proposed a 2 per cent tax in each
of these areas only to have the Province of
Manitoba approve only the accommodation
tax. The City then negotiated that tax
up to 5 per cent and now applies 60 per
cent of that revenue directly to municipal
infrastructure projects.
Others have entered into public-private partnerships (P3s) to help fund new municipal buildings and services and implemented user
fees or ”pay as you go” programs on things like solid waste collection. Many have looked at regional projects to gain efficiencies.
And others have raised property taxes and maxed out their borrowing ability to the point where they simply cannot access any
new funds.
The effort is there, but the bottom line remains that municipalities need access to new revenue sources.
That is why the AMM has pushed the Province of Manitoba for a one per cent share of the existing PST to be dedicated to municipal
infrastructure, on top of the existing funding municipalities currently receive. Not the repackaging of programs that add up to one
per cent announced in the last provincial budget –
although this was certainly a step in the right
direction as it now ties those programs to a
growth tax.
Rather, a one-cent municipal tax, allocated
to municipalities for infrastructure and split
equally among municipalities on a per capita
basis, that would provide over $240 million
dollars a year on top of current funding.
A one-cent municipal tax, allocated to municipalities
for infrastructure and split equally
among municipalities on a per capita basis,
would provide over $240 million dollars a year
on top of current funding.
For a community of 1,000 people, this means
roughly an investment of $195,000 in their
local infrastructure. For 2,000 people it would
mean $390,000 a year. A community such as
Thompson could see over $2.5 million, while Winnipeg would expect to see over $123 million dollars.
Although this funding alone will not erase the infrastructure deficit in Manitoba, it would be a positive – and much needed -
first step.
So would rebating municipalities their portion of the Provincial Sales Tax, because let’s face it - it is patently unfair for one order of
government to tax another. Currently, municipalities don’t even get their full one-third share of tri-partite project funding as they are
required to turn around and pay seven per cent P.S.T. on those projects.
Given today’s economy, asking the Provincial Government to provide additional revenues to municipalities is a hard sell. What we
must remember, however, is the positive impact infrastructure investment would have for the provincial and national economy.
On the other hand, delaying investment in these critical infrastructure projects will have serious long-term consequences for
Manitoba’s economy, and for the people who make up our province.
Doug Dobrowolski is the President of The Association of Manitoba Municipalities. For more information, visit their website at
www.amm.mb.ca
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