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.
Deputy Mayor Tim Babcock has joined a chorus of Manitoba officials chastising the NDP government's contentious new budget. Babcock is among nine mayors or deputy mayors who signed a letter urging Premier Greg Selinger to direct one point of the existing PST to municipal infrastructure. Instead, Babcock said, the province plans to boost the PST by one point and transfer just 11 per cent of the revenue _ $30 million of $277 million _ to municipalities. 'It's no secret that we are approaching a state of crisis with our infrastructure,' he said, 'and once again the provincial government has abandoned us and left us to deal with it on our own.' Babcock made the statement as part of a joint news release from the participating mayors and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) lobbying group. AMM joined the nine mayors and deputy mayors in writing the letter, which was to be delivered to Premier Selinger Wednesday. 'We implore you to show your commitment to municipalities and work with us to improve the state of our roads, bridges, sewers and community infrastructure,' read the letter. 'We must maintain, renew and replace our existing infrastructure, but without a new source of reliable and sustainable revenue, this is an impossible feat.' The AMM and the mayors want the province to dedicate revenue from one point of the current PST to municipal infrastructure. The money would be distributed on a per-capita basis, and would be over and above funding already received by municipalities. See 'Mayors' on pg. Continued from pg. Besides Babcock, the letter was signed by Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz; Thompson mayor Tim Johnston; Brandon mayor Shari Decter Hirst; Morden mayor Ken Wiebe; Portage la Prairie mayor Earl Porter; Selkirk mayor Larry Johannson; Steinbach mayor Chris Goertzen; Winkler mayor Martin Harder; and AMM president Doug Dobrowolski. Dobrowolski said Premier Selinger had repeatedly said there was no new money for municipalities and no plans to raise taxes. 'Here we are today, taxes are increasing and there is an insignificant amount of new funding for municipalities,' he said in the news release. The NDP has defended its budget, saying it will invest a record $1.8 billion in new infrastructure across the province. As for the controversial hike bringing the PST to eight per cent, Finance Minister Stan Struthers has said the province is 'raising revenue in the fairest way possible to secure against an uncertain economy and all-too-frequent flooding.'
