Municipalities highlight infrastructure in pre-budget submission to province
AMM underscores need for new revenue sources to meet demands
The need for increased investment in core infrastructure is highlighted as a critical provincial issue by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in its pre-Budget 2019 submission to the government.
The AMM puts the revenue challenge and infrastructure investment at the top of its list of critical issues requiring immediate action. It calls upon the province to:
- Identify new, additional sources of revenue for municipalities to address Manitoba’s growing $11+ billion infrastructure deficit and increasing municipal responsibilities
- Increase investments in core infrastructure, namely municipal roads, bridges, and water and wastewater-related projects as well as provincial highways
- Immediately reinstate the Municipal Road and Bridge Program, which has been reduced to $2.25 million, from $14 million in 2017
The budget submission notes that “in 2017, the legislative guarantee under The Municipal Taxation and Funding Act to share 1/7 of provincial PST revenues with municipalities was repealed.”
“We join the AMM in its request for increased investment in core infrastructure,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said. “We have always said that while all Manitobans are hurt by the reduction in the investment the province makes in core infrastructure – highways, roads, bridges, sewer & water, and water-control structures – municipalities keenly feel the cuts because of their lack of financial capacity for funding these projects.”
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