Land annexations by Saskatchewan municipalities typically go well, says government relations minister Jim Reiter, but every so often they don’t.
New guidelines introduced at last week’s Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities midterm convention are designed to help municipal governments reach agreement and determine appropriate financial compensation for annexations.
A committee of ministry staff, SARM and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association developed the eight principles over the last two years after an initial draft from the ministry was more restrictive than the municipalities expected.
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Reiter said he originally envisioned a template and a formula, but the voluntary guidelines are better.
They respect municipal autonomy while recognizing the importance of growth in the province, he said. As well, the Saskatchewan Municipal Board, where irresolvable disputes end up, will use the guidelines.
“We’re not going to tie the municipal board’s hands by saying, ‘here’s what you’re going to pay,’ ” Reiter told the convention.
Carmen Sterling, reeve of the RM of Weyburn and SARM director for Division 1, said the guide helps urban and rural municipalities understand each other.
“We’ve come a long way in the Weyburn area,” she said.
SUMA president Debra Button, who is the mayor of Weyburn, said the city was the first to sign a district planning agreement with an RM. The two municipalities are in an area of high growth and development.
“Often we weren’t at the table with our rural municipality neighbours until something arose,” she told reporters.
“Our urban municipalities were certainly enjoying a lot of well-enjoyed growth, but along with that came challenges that we hadn’t actually anticipated nor were we prepared to deal with.”
The main dispute is almost always about money.
“How many years are you compensating for? What are you compensating for? What development is in place?” Button said.
SARM president Ray Orb said annexation has been an issue mostly near major cities, but it also affects smaller urban centres because the province has been growing.
“We’re quite comfortable with these,” he said.
“A lot of this is just sitting down and meeting and talking to each other.”
One size doesn’t fit all, he added, and different issues arise in different locations.
- More regional planning by urban and neighbouring rural RMs.
- Annexations based on substantiated need.
- Financial settlements based on evidence and done in good faith.
- Financial settlements should acknowledge net financial benefits for both municipalities and infrastructure improvements that have been made.
- Financial settlements should not jeopardize the ability of either municipality to meet its residents’ needs.
- Property taxes from properties affected by annexation should be linked to provision of municipal services to those properties.
- Financial settlements should be based on present land use and not influenced by future development in the annexing municipality.
- Financial settlement should take only future development into consideration if the annexation inhibits or transfers an immediate development.
