Saskatchewan’s official opposition party is calling for funding from both the provincial and federal governments to help compensate for serious revenue shortfalls felt by municipalities.
Sask. NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon is requesting that grants and interest free loans to support property tax deferrals be made available for municipal governments facing losses.
Wotherspoon said those support dollars may focus on some of the province’s larger centres that have taken a dramatic hit.
“On things like transit revenues and those with significant recreation assets like pools, rinks and rec facilities,” discussed Wotherspoon.
He noted how Regina is one of the cities that is suffering from lost revenue after projecting nearly $21 million in losses by September 30 due to the pandemic.
Wotherspoon understands the province is in a tight financial position themselves due to the virus outbreak, but he said municipalities are being left in a terrible situation.
“They can’t run a deficit, so those costs are then borrowed by property taxpayers,” he explained. “It’s not a time right now when Saskatchewan property taxpayers can take on the hikes that would be required to cover these shortfalls.”
The NDP is also calling for the provincial government to invest in Saskatchewan’s economic recovery by removing the PST from construction labour for municipal projects.
