Melfort mayor talks taxes; SUMA
Melfort city council is moving forward with a tax increase of just over three percent despite an unfinalized provincial budget.
Council met Thursday at city hall to continue working on the 2018 operating budget a day after members returned from the SUMA convention in Regina. Mayor Rick Lang said the city needs to move forward with their budget plan even if the province hasn’t finished its.
On Monday premier Scott Moe announced the current revenue sharing formula of one per cent needs to change to be “fair and provide predictability.” Lang said the provincial government is taking in more PST revenue with the addition of taxes on insurance and construction contracts and isn’t keen on passing the money along to municipalities.
“What we have now is a good basis for revenue sharing, it’s set with logic and reason,” Lang told northeastNOW. “I think the government noticed it’s evolved into more money than they ever thought it would be.”