NEWS RELEASE
(Tuesday, March 23/2004) -- Mayor Peter Kelly said today's federal budget was encouraging for municipalities, translating commitments contained in the Throne Speech into actual dollars for local governments.
Mayor Kelly said he was pleased the federal government plans to accelerate the spending of the $3 billion in committed infrastructure funds. The money will be made available over a five-year period, rather than the previously announced 10-year time frame.
"This will make much-needed infrastructure funds available to municipalities at a much faster rate than originally planned. Now, we can better plan our infrastructure improvements and put them in place at a much faster pace," he said.
Today's budget reiterated a previous Martin government announcement to allow municipalities to recover 100 per cent of the GST and federal component of the HST, retroactive to February 1, 2004. Previously, municipalities could only recover 57 per cent. In HRM's case, the rebate amounts to about $5 million annually. In addition, it translates into between $7-8 million in savings on the Harbour Solutions Project.
Mayor Kelly said he was somewhat disappointed the much sought after share of the Federal Gas Tax for municipalities will not be forthcoming in this budget. A five-cent per litre share would have meant about $31 million in new revenue for HRM in the first year, which could be used for road repair/replacement, public transit and new transportation links.
However, the federal government did give its commitment to work with the provinces/territories over the next number of months to share a portion of gas tax revenues with municipalities or determine other fiscal arrangements to achieve the same goals.
"This budget reflects the commitment of Prime Minister Martin to forge a new relationship with Canada's big cities and municipalities. It is encouraging that the federal government recognizes the challenges of Canadian municipalities. We are looking forward to having a greater say in how we move forward, and most importantly, to new sources of revenue to meet our growing demands," Mayor Kelly said.
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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010
