Provincial and municipal leaders in Saskatchewan are under pressure over how to continue the same level of public services in the face of an expected $20 million funding cut from the provincial government.
Sinclair Harrison, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, met with provincial government officials and officials from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association in Regina last week.
Many expect the $20 million cut in revenue sharing will translate into a local tax hike next year.
Harrison is optimistic the working committee will be ready with an agreement by the first of the month, but said there’s a lot of ground to cover.
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SARM, SUMA and the province are tackling several issues, including reviewing public service, improving efficiency, resolving outstanding financial issues and eliminating red tape.
Amalgamation on table
Amalgamation of rural municipalities is one of the hot topics being discussed.
Harrison said he’s still holding out hope the province will reconsider cutting transfer payments to municipalities.
Municipal governments believe provincial revenues will be higher than the province’s projections when it announced the $20 million reduction, he said.
Saskatchewan Liberals accused the NDP of offloading onto local governments.
