Provincial funding unclear, says frustrated mayor

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This article was published 06/03/2019 (2130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba budget does little to clarify how much money the City of Winnipeg can expect to receive from provincial coffers this year, Mayor Brian Bowman says.

The province said Thursday it has earmarked up to $113 million in funding for city capital projects in 2019, including rapid transit development, the Waverley Street underpass and the accelerated regional roads program.

However, Bowman said it has done little to settle the province-city funding dispute that’s been making headlines in recent weeks.

“They have been consistent on (what we can expect for) the operating budget. Where we have the biggest challenge, of course, is getting the clarity on the capital side. There has not been that clarity provided to date,” Bowman said, shortly after the provincial budget was released.

“What we see here in this budget is a ceiling, what we don’t have is a floor. That poses a challenge for us.”

In other words, while the city could receive up to $113 million in funding for capital projects this year, it isn’t guaranteed the money will be spent.

In addition to funding for capital projects, the provincial government has earmarked $140 million in “basket funding” for the City of Winnipeg in 2019 — the same level of funding it received a year earlier.

It includes roughly $24 million in public safety funding and $116 million in general operating funds that can be used at the city’s discretion.

In total, the province unveiled $313.5 million in “basket funding” for all Manitoba municipalities, the same amount as 2018.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the provincial government sent two letters to city representatives — one from Premier Brian Pallister, one from Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton — in advance of Winnipeg tabling its budget. He said the letters made clear what funding levels the city can expect to receive from the province in 2019.

While Bowman acknowledged receipt of the letters, he disputed Fielding’s characterization of their content, saying they “absolutely (did) not” provide the clarity the city was seeking.

“In fact, there were changes between the two letters. It’s been a moving target. I received another letter today while in the gallery from Minister Wharton and we’re trying to understand that as well. So it’s a challenge,” Bowman said.

“Let me put it this way: I brought a blank piece of paper to my meeting with the minister in December. I wrote down operating and capital, and said tell me what the number is so we can budget properly. We got flatlined funding for operating and we were left with nothing for capital in terms of having that certainty.”

During a media conference Thursday, Fielding acknowledged there has been drama between the two levels when it comes to funding for 2019, and said he hopes it can be resolved.

“We have met our financial obligations with the city. Quite frankly, there’s been a lot of drama with this whole provincial-city funding issue. Enough of the drama, we want to get things done,” Fielding said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe