New Brunswick local governments are in need of long-term sustainable funding, according to one municipal association.
It is one of the five key priorities for the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB) heading into the provincial budget.
Brittany Merrifield, president of the association, said fiscal reform remains their number one priority again this year.
“84 per cent of municipal revenue comes from property tax and increasingly there’s reliance on residential property tax over non-residential property tax,” she said.
“So that’s an issue, plus it’s just not a diversified revenue source, so that comes with its own challenges.”
A recent report commissioned by UMNB found a hyper-reliance on property tax revenue for local governments and a significant municipal funding gap.
Merrifield said municipalities need just over $200 million annually to address operational and infrastructure deficits, plus an additional $110 million in 2025 to hold them over until the fiscal reform process is completed.
“We’re advocating for a point of the HST as a way for the provincial government to help us fill that gap. We’re not advocating for more taxes, we’re advocating for more efficiently using existing tax dollars,” she added.
Merrifield, who is also the mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield, said many municipalities have taken on additional roles since local governance reform but did not receive any extra money.
In addition, she said communities are dealing with issues such as homeless encampments that they have never had to deal with.
“Property tax dollars were never meant to deal with issues like that, and that’s one of the reasons that we really need to take a good close look at how municipalities are funded going forward,” said Merrifield.
UMNB is also calling for increased investments in housing infrastructure, additional funding for road and cellphone service infrastructure, and a “Municipal Support Fund” for newly formed municipalities.
The Liberal government is set to unveil its first budget on March 18.
