An independent report on municipal spending across Manitoba reveals a “mixed bag” for Flin Flon taxpayers, says a co-author of the document.
Elliot Sims helped write Manitoba Municipal Spending Watch, a Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) study that compares spending in the province’s 24 largest municipalities.
“In Flin Flon’s case, they have done very well at controlling the growth in spending and actually providing fairly good value for money for their residents when you look at the long-term trend over the last five years,” said Sims, Manitoba affairs director for CFIB.
The flip side, Sims said, is that in terms of spending Flin Flon started at a “very high” level. In 2012, no municipality on the list spent more per capita in raw dollars than Flin Flon.
“When it comes to the overall level of spending, just comparing Flin Flon to its other northern neighbours, there seems like there’s a lot of room for them to get that operating spending under control and provide even better value for money,” he said.
Sims summed up the report as “a mixed bag” for Flin Flon taxpayers.
“There’s some really positive things that the current council and past councils have done to ensure that the operating spending growth has been kept in a sustainable fashion,” he said. “That being said, they’re also starting out at a very high [spending] bar [and] I would suggest it needs to be evaluated whether the actual cost [offers] true value for money.”
Manitoba Municipal Spending Watch was released last month and summarized by The Reminder and other news outlets. The report has come under criticism from municipal leaders across the province.
Doug Dobrowolski, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, a lobby group, spoke for many when he argued the report did not provide proper context around the issue of spending.
In a letter to the editor, Dobrowolski called CFIB “irresponsible” for “scolding” northern municipalities that deal with unique challenges such as geographic isolation, social conditions and a lack of employment opportunities.
Sims said CFIB has many members in northern Manitoba, including Flin Flon, and understands that it takes more money to run a municipality in a remote region.
But he said Flin Flon’s per capita spending is more than $1,000 higher than communities of comparable size in southern Manitoba, adding: “That still seems fairly significant to me.”
Sims accused the Association of Manitoba Municipalities of focusing only on revenue concerns rather than the possibility of municipalities reducing spending.
“It’s unfortunate that the debate throughout many parts of Manitoba is…that we need to find additional revenues, whether they’re from the provincial government or higher municipal taxes, to pay for expenses,” he said, “rather than saying, ‘This is how much money we’re bringing in. Let’s make sure that we control our expenses to match that and look at, clearly, what are nice-to-have projects versus what are need-to-have projects when running a community.’”
In its report, CFIB assessed municipalities on two fronts: growth in real per capita operating spending for 2008-12 and actual operating spending per capita in 2012.
Flin Flon’s per capita operating spending declined six per cent for 2008-12, earning the municipality the title of Manitoba’s most reasonable spender.
Flin Flon’s per capita spending in 2012, meanwhile, was the highest of the municipalities at $2,109.
For its part, Flin Flon city council has repeatedly defended its budgeting process as fair and responsible. Councillors have also detailed the significant impact of provincial mandates, such as the relatively new water treatment plant, on municipal spending.
Sims stressed that the report was compiled in an impartial manner is not meant to pass judgement on any particular municipal policy.
He added that his colleagues have heard from members in Flin Flon and across northern Manitoba who appreciated seeing an impartial analysis of municipal spending.
CFIB is an independent lobby group representing over 109,000 small businesses in Canada.
