Thursday, July 19, 2012

Municipal Infrastructure Deficit


With the good news of the official start of construction for the Northeast Anthony Henday Drive - our thoughts turn to the need for all levels of government to continue to be proactive in their revitalization of public infrastructure.

Local governments build and repair over half of all public infrastructure, while collecting an average of eight cents of every tax dollar, creating an inequitable system.

Up until now, the federal-municipal funding agreement has provided for an annual $2 billion to assist in this monumental task. This program, as I have reported in earlier articles, is set to expire in 2014. Communities need to continue moving forward with the job of rebuilding our municipal infrastructure or we will fall behind as crumbling infrastructure costs our economy jobs and investment.

Strathcona County is one of the nearly 2,000 municipalities supporting the Federation of Canadian Municipalities(FCM) in its bid to encourage Federal, Provincial and territorial governments to protect and build on recent investments in municipal infrastructure. This national organization is trying to create a consensus about what the future program should look like before they present to the federal government through it's Municipal Infrastructure Forum (MIF).
Given the approaching deadline - you should hear more from your local Council soon.

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