Doug Dobrowolski, President of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
Doug Dobrowolski, President of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) is hoping tomorrow’s provincial budget at the Manitoba Legislature will acknowledge two of the lobby group’s priorities – infrastructure and housing.
The AMM met with Finance Minister Stan Struthers in February and presented a pre-budget list of almost four dozen items. However, Dobrowolski says the most urgent problem facing Manitoba municipalities continue to revolve around the need for new alternate revenue sources to fund infrastructure.
The AMM is pleased that the Province recognized municipalities need access to growth revenues by changing the legislated annual revenue-sharing formula in 2011. However, without a significant investment over and above existing levels municipalities will continue to struggle to address the infrastructure deficit in their communities.
“The recent federal budget committed to continue to work with municipalities toward a new long-term infrastructure plan,” said Dobrowolski. “The Province has also expressed interest in working with us, but we need to identify new revenue sources dedicated to pay for infrastructure. The current system is simply not sustainable.”
Housing is also important for communities in Manitoba due to the amount of growth that has taken place in recent years, said Dobrowolski. “The Province has taken a look at this issue through two housing roundtables. Now we hope to see some action on this issue.”
The AMM is also concerned with what won’t be in tomorrow’s budget, since programs and services reduced or cut at the provincial level often fall on the shoulders of municipalities. “Downloading is definitely something we will be watching closely for,” said Dobrowolski.
