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Revenue sharing, public transport on the mind of La Ronge mayor as budget nears

Apr 6, 2018 | 5:00 PM

With the April 10 provincial budget approaching next week, La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich said he has two main concerns.

The first budget highlight he wants to know about is how much the provincial government will allocate the town in the form of municipal revenue sharing. Considering the amount is determined upon one full point of the current six per cent PST rate, Woytowich noted the town could receive less than it did last year if residents of Saskatchewan are spending less money.

“A lot of it has to do with a percentage of the PST and, if sales are down, then that’s down,” he said. “It’s a fair chunk of money we need just for operating, especially with costs going up… on everything from salaries to fuel.”

Woytowich also said he anticipates local taxpayers will need to start paying more for garbage removal as the government moves to amalgamate landfills across the province. Although the regional site will be located near La Ronge, he added costs will go up as more municipalities begin accessing it. Upkeep and repairs to water and sewer lines will also need to be budgeted for the coming year, Woytowich said. In 2017-2018, $257 million was distributed to communities through municipal revenue sharing. 

 “We don’t need a shifting from the province to the municipality because it’s just going to cost us more,” he said.

The second concern Woytowich would like to see addressed in the budget is the lack of public transit between northern Saskatchewan and southern communities. Many residents of La Ronge have been negatively affected by the closing of STC, he said, noting people would be satisfied even if a private company was enticed to link La Ronge with the South.

 “People who needed to go South for medicals and for shopping and visiting… don’t have a way of going and are really hurting right now,” Woytowich said.

 

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno