The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Question: Could you disclose how much money is owed by each Flin Flon property taxpayer at this time and what will be owed after the new water treatment plant is running? Mayor Therien: Even though we know we are getting a water treatment plant, the costs and how they will be incorporated into our budget are unknown to us at this time. The capital costs incurred will be handled as a debenture and spread out over a period of 20 years. The yearly payments will be included in the annual budget and council has a few options as to how to handle these. Once the day-to-day expenses of running the city are taken into account, we are left with the option of including capital expenditures. Council looks at the budget to determine how much room we have to allow for these expenses. At the end of the day, this may have no further affect on your taxes, or it could decrease or increase them depending on what else is in the equation. As for the day-to-day running of the plant, I cannot tell you at this time how much or how we would handle the costs that will be incurred. Again, we may have options. * * * Question: Would council consider a user fee for non-Flin Flon residents to use the Flin Flon dump and other services residents pay for? Mayor Therien: Council has talked about user fees for a number of years now. Probably one of the major hang-ups for us is how to implement such fees so as not to make it cumbersome for our people to follow. You gave the dump as an example. You cannot use licence plates as a guide because we have both Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents who pay taxes to Flin Flon. Besides, how do you distinguish Flin Flonners from those who live at the lake? In regards to other services, you cannot use phone numbers because we are all over the map when it comes to that and we still have the SK/MB issue to get around, also. The airport is another significant area of concern. This has been an issue ever since the federal government turned the airport back to the city. We all know this is a regional airport, yet the excess costs to run this facility are borne 100 per cent by the taxpayers of Flin Flon. We would be looking at an extra departure tax for those who do not reside in Flin Flon, but again, how do you implement it without causing confusion? Somehow, some way, we will figure a system out, but if you have any suggestions, please feel free to let us know. * * * Send your questions for Mayor Therien to The Reminder by phone at 687-3454, fax at 687-4473, e-mail at [email protected] or standard delivery at "Ask the Mayor", C/O The Reminder, 14 North Avenue, Flin Flon, MB, R8A 0T2. No names are required. Ask the Mayor runs Mondays.
