By Brent Bosker

Infrastructure fund top of mind for mayor

Feb 3, 2011 | 6:50 AM

Mayor Jim Scarrow left the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Saskatoon emphasizing a need for a national strategy to assist municipalities with fixing crumbling roads and bridges.

“We have municipal operating grant, but we do not have an infrastructure fund,” said Scarrow.
Scarrow was encouraged to hear from Premier Brad Wall that the fund is in the works. He stressed the need to get the federal government on board soon.

“The Building Canada Fund expires in 2014 and we need to work with the federal government and encourage them to be a part of the federal infrastructure program,” he said.

The city currently has a more than $50 million backlog of road work that needs to be done.

Prince Albert will be receiving some additional funding in 2011 thanks to a promise kept by the Wall government.

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At the convention on Monday, Wall announced annual revenue sharing equal to a full point of the provincial sales tax for municipalities. For the city that will mean an extra $1.4 million dollars in 2011.

However the new funding will not help elevate the current budget challenges the city is facing.

Because the announcement from the provincial government was expected, Scarrow said the city had already accounted for it in this year’s budget.

The current affordable housing crisis in Saskatchewan was also featured at the convention. Scarrow along with other mayors discussed with the government how to tackle the problem and was pleased to hear a summit would be held in April.

“(And) a process will be established to address the housing issues, which are multi leveled. A real plan, a strategy if you will,” said Scarrow.

bbosker@panow.com