On April 1st the federal Conservative government doubled the amount of money sent to the provinces and territories for municipal infrastructure. The money to Humboldt is doubling, (from $160,404 to $323,587). Municipal infrastructure funds from the federal gas tax transfer to all the towns and RMs in Saskatchewan is increasing. For example, Wakaw is going up from $27,475 to $55,425 and Cudworth’s allocation increased from $23,807 to 48,027.

The federal gas tax transfer was created because municipal governments are heavily dependent on property taxes to raise revenues for local services. Municipal governments can raise monies through other fees. But by in large, those revenues are limited to recovery of costs for services directly provided.

The federal government decided to take monies from the gas tax that you pay at the pump and give it directly to municipal governments for a number of reasons. Local governments have the freedom to fund more of their own projects. The certainty that comes along with the gas tax money also allows municipalities to better plan for future projects. Since municipal governments fix local roads, it is somewhat appropriate that it is gas tax revenue which is transferred back to fund these improvements.

So, while it’s not the major part of a municipal government’s revenue, the Gas Tax Fund is a permanent yearly transfer.  The gas tax transfer should help keep those property taxes down and fix a few roads in town.

For a complete list of what each town or RM will receive in Saskatoon-Humboldt this year, check out the list at the end of this column.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt.  You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.