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Infrastructure dollars welcome, more needed

While it’s not new news, it is still good news, in terms of the City of Yorkton.

While it’s not new news, it is still good news, in terms of the City of Yorkton.

An announcement has come down making it official Yorkton will receive an extra $996,000 from the federal government under the Gas Tax Fund for infrastructure priorities like roads, wastewater and recreation.

It is part of the money Saskatchewan has received in the first of two $31.2 million installments of the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) for the 2019-20 fiscal year, along with a top-up of $61.9 million, made available through Budget 2019.

This top-up doubles the amount of money for Saskatchewan communities, based on their allocations for 2018-19.

Yorkton City Manager Lonnie Kaal said the recent announcement is only confirmation regarding the money they had already been made aware was coming.

“We’ve known it was coming for quite a while,” she said, adding it was about six-months ago the new money was first unveiled.

The dollars for infrastructure is something the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has been lobbying for, said Kaal, adding “it is the type of money we want to get. You don’t have to apply for grants (based on particular projects).”

The City has known about these dollars since at least March when the federal government released its budget.

At the time Yorkton Mayor Bob Maloney said the Liberal government announced an additional $2.2 billion “to top up the federal gas tax fund.” He noted then that the City of Yorkton has received roughly $900,000 through the program, the funds having to be ear marked for capital projects.

“This year they’re going to double it to more like $1.8 million,” said Maloney.

The additional funding was considered significant considering the City was looking to borrow $3 million for road work on 2019.

That the new funds are getting a fresh round of attention is simply the way politics use the way it doles out our tax dollars as a public relations chip it can roll out repeatedly for some added exposure. It’s a bit of smoke and glitz for media headlines, and yes it works, but underlying the politics is a positive step by the federal government to boost its investment in municipalities such as Yorkton.

While the new money is “a one-time doubling,” said Kaal, she said FCM is lobbying for the increase to carry into future years.

With a federal election on the horizon the FCM lobby just might find ears in Ottawa willing to listen.

The need is certainly real and large, with aging infrastructure across the country become a growing concern in terms of how municipalities can afford to keep pace with upkeep and renewal.

An extended annual increase in the gas tax transfer would be a positive step in helping address that need.

It would also keep our federal government invested in the future of the country’s villages, towns and cities in a more significant way.