REGINA – Rural municipalities want compensation for the use of their roads by mobile elevator units.
A resolution passed at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities mid-term convention earlier this month called on the owners to pay a business tax on grain volumes handled by the mobile units and to enter into road maintenance agreements with any RM in which the units operate.
Currently, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and United Grain Growers operate mobile units, which can test, weigh and transfer grain at farms.
SARM councillor Ron Gleim of Chaplin said rural councillors are worried mobile units will affect local business.
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“One of their main concerns was how (mobile units) can come into an area with a branch line and totally demarket that line,” Gleim said. “(The pool) can buy all the grain up and move it to AgPro and there would be nothing there for the local area.”
Gleim said SARM is willing to sit down and discuss the issue with the grain companies.
Some tax needed
“I don’t think (the companies are) willing to pay any tax on them, but somewhere along here the municipalities are going to have to collect some kind of a tax on something to pay for the roads.”
Lorne Hadley, regional manager for United Grain Growers in Saskatoon, said its yard elevator service is not intended to replace local elevators. He said UGG is using its single unit for farmers who are far from elevators.
Bruce Johnson, general manager of the pool’s grain group, said the company pays the usual licensing fees and fuel taxes on its three units and said another tax would be passed straight through to producers.
