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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Flin Flon City Council's quest to glean new revenue from outside residents will extend beyond cottagers. That's the word from Mayor George Fontaine, who hopes Creighton, Denare Beach and neighbouring First Nations will in time contribute more funding for Flin Flon facilities many of their residents use. 'As you'll see when budget time comes along, there's going to be a lot of people that are going to be affected by changes in our financial structure,' the mayor said at last week's council meeting. 'And so we're trying to do a balancing act. You won't hit everybody all at once, but in time we're going to try and hit everybody so that we have a little more balanced kind of a system here.' See 'Discussed...' pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 Mayor Fontaine said council has already discussed the need for a more regional funding model for Flin Flon services with the mayors of Creighton and Denare Beach. 'They're aware of it, but everything takes time,' he said. 'There's only so many hours in a day, and they understand what the balance is. And so if we make a proposal to them, well hopefully it will be looked at in a positive fashion once we get an opportunity to look at that, too.' The comments came as Mayor Fontaine responded to questions about council's proposal to have residents of cottage subdivisions outside Flin Flon provide funding to the municipality. If the cottagers, through their cottage associations, do not agree to financial terms the city finds palatable, council will attempt to annex the subdivisions, making them a taxable part of Flin Flon. But Mayor Fontaine said annexation is by no means council's preferred path. 'I want them to provide some revenue towards the city. I've never wanted to annex them and I've said that innumerable times,' he said. 'I've said the only option available to us if we have to take a step is to apply for annexation, and I've repeatedly said that's not a step we relish. However, if we can't find a way to start getting some cooperation, then that would have been the move that we would have been prepared to take, and still is a move that we would be prepared to take, but not one that we have followed through with up to this point.' Mayor Fontaine met with cottagers last year to outline council's position. The cottage associations then wrote council asking them to list the services the city could provide to cabin owners and how much money would be expected in return. The mayor said council has since written back to the cottagers and is allowing them time to review the letter before it is made public. 'We're going to have a conversation with them very shortly because we are prepared to make sure that our community residents are aware of the proposal that we made to the cottagers,' he said, adding that the letter will be released through The Reminder. Many cottagers remain opposed to the notion of providing any monetary support to a community in which they do not live. Council's stance has prompted a question from many cottagers, both in private and in public: What right do they have to approach us for money? Asked how he responds to that question, Mayor Fontaine cited the fact that Flin Flin taxpayers are in effect subsidizing public facilities for an entire region of people. 'So what gives me the right to do that? I think I have the right to protect the taxpayer within this community who's paying for all of that, which is my job, (who are) the people that elected me,' he said. 'The outside (residents) are...using the services that these people are paying for.' Support concept A concept that finds support among many cottagers is a non-resident user fee for public facilities like the Aqua Centre. That would ensure cottagers _ and other non-Flin Flon residents _ are financially supporting the services they use. But Mayor Fontaine said a user fee would never cover the substantial operating costs at the Aqua Centre, for instance, adding that 'very simply, it's a shared thing.' Mayor Fontaine said efforts to have non-residents and neighbouring communities help fund Flin Flon facilities is not a case of 'we're coming to get you.' 'This is, 'Look around you, smell the roses, figure out if you want these services to be here in the future as this population has reduced to the point that it has,'' he said. 'If...you're an outside person and want to continue to have these services available, find a way to say, 'Hey, we'll join in.' And that's whether you're from Saskatchewan or whether you're from Schist Lake or whether you're from Athapap.' Asked whether council's plan will eventually seek funding from reserves like Pelican Narrows, whose residents frequent Flin Flon, Mayor Fontaine said First Nations will not be exempt. 'They're going to have to find some way to pay for what they're doing, yeah,' he said. Should council ever attempt to annex cottage subdivisions, they would have to apply to the provincial government, whose minister of local government, Ron Lemieux, would have the final say. Manitoba's Municipal Board, a quasi-judicial tribunal, would review the application and make a recommendation to Lemieux. The board uses a set of principles when considering annexation proposals, including: Servicing: The ability to provide water and sewer service to the residents and land owners of a particular area. Social and economic ties: The board considers the social and economic ties of the affected residents and landowners. Viability and future growth: The viability of a municipality and its ability to fulfill its role in the broader community should be supported. ÊWill of the people: An attempt should be made to accommodate the will of the majority of residents and land owners of an area proposed for annexation. Geographical boundaries: Geographical or natural barriers that may serve as a logical boundary line should be considered. An annexation proposal would not necessarily have to meet all of the principles in order to succeed. Both opponents and supporters of annexation can find solace in some of the factors that would be considered. For example, it would not appear feasible for the City of Flin Flon to run sewer and water lines to cottage subdivisions _ good news for opponents. That said, there is no denying that many, if not most, cottagers maintain strong social and economic ties to Flin Flon _ good news for supporters. Manitoba's Municipal Act provides a legal framework and detailed process that must be followed before an annexation may occur. The process of annexation, from the date of application to the time Lemieux makes his decision, can take a year or more.
