WINNIPEG — Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is stressing the need for roadwork and long-term infrastructure in his response to a call from the Province of Manitoba to provide input on their 2018 budget.
Bowman identified three key priorities for the city: for the province to endorse the City of Winnipeg’s regional roads proposal, to commit to a “long-term, predictable and growth oriented funding framework,” and to restore a 50/50 transit funding agreement.
The termination of the transit partnership has created a $10 million deficit for the city’s 2018 transit budget, Bowman said.
“Ten million dollars is a lot of money. As the city finalizes its preliminary 2018 budget, we are grappling with ways to address the significant budget gap the provincial decision has caused. There is no doubt that it’s going to negatively impact transit users,” Bowman said in a statement.
The mayor also said municipalities cannot succeed without partners at the provincial and federal level.
“Winnipeg’s current infrastructure deficit is estimated to be $7 billion. While council has been chipping away at our infrastructure deficit, we cannot do it alone, and provincial and federal infrastructure support for Winnipeg is an essential part of rebuilding our city after years of neglect,” he said.
The mayor appealed to federal and provincial governments to partner with the city to rehabilitate regional roads, which he said could be done at no additional incremental cost to Winnipeg and Manitoba taxpayers.
“Millions of dollars in federal funding is currently sitting idle in a bank account when it could be used to fix many of our regional roads. The province simply has to endorse and submit to the federal government council’s unanimous proposal to access this funding, and regional road renewal across our city can be further bolstered,” Bowman said.
The City of Winnipeg Charter Act requires the city to balance its annual operating budget and develop a five-year capital forecast. Bowman said meeting those requirements has been a challenge.
“I do want to stress that the City of Winnipeg remains fully committed to meeting its legislated requirement to table a preliminary budget that is balanced. I know there is only one taxpayer. It is my hope the 2018 provincial budget can strengthen the partnership between the City of Winnipeg and Province of Manitoba, allowing us to effectively serve our citizens now and in the years ahead,” he stated.
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