Municipalities lay out priorities ahead of provincial election
Communities say promised fiscal reform needs to be implemented
A group representing New Brunswick municipalities has issued a provincial election wish list that includes a call to complete fiscal reforms promised during local governance restructuring.
"A new financial agreement between municipalities and the province is key to alleviating financial pressure on residential property owners and their tenants," Andrew Black, president of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, said Tuesday.
The union, representing 56 municipalities across the province, outlined five priorities at a news conference in Moncton for candidates in the election scheduled for this fall.
The priorities include improving the relationship between the levels of government, financial changes, addressing housing and homelessness and reviewing provincial policing.
The Higgs government implemented sweeping local governance reforms at the start of 2023, creating or expanding multiple municipalities.
The changes followed a white paper, released in November 2021, that said the reforms would be followed by fiscal reform. The document said the intent was to make changes related to finances before Jan. 1, 2025.
However, Black said it is now unlikely that timeline can be met.
"We should have had this conversation on fiscal reform months and months and months ago," Black told reporters, adding that he's glad it has at least started.
Municipalities are already in the process of developing their 2025 budgets, and Black said some are looking at cuts because of the costs they face.
He pointed to Quispamsis, which cut roadwork spending last year because of rising costs, as an example of the choices municipalities are making.
More tax revenue sharing sought
"Having municipalities have to make those decisions that impact their residents, their taxpayers, is difficult and that will continue to happen until municipalities are adequately funded down the road," Black said.
Black said municipalities want a funding model that takes into account things like climate change adaption, housing and homelessness, infrastructure, tourism and regional economic development.
The union is calling for candidates to commit to the province sharing more tax revenue. One suggestion would be to share a portion of harmonized sales tax revenue, like in Quebec and Saskatchewan, to fund municipal services.
Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold said fiscal reform is significant for the city, saying the municipality has a $200-million infrastructure deficit, the value of work to replace or fix things like buildings and utility lines, while it also increases spending to address social issues that fall under provincial jurisdiction.
"We've stepped up to take action on how these things are impacting our community," Arnold said of spending on affordable housing, grants and bylaw officers.
"But we need to see some some action from the province as well. So either give us the money to to be able to handle these really challenging situations in our community, or it's time for the province to to do their part."
The five priorities outlined Tuesday touch on things such as affordable housing. The union says the province must ensure municipalities are involved when it is making decisions touching on issues like housing affordability, or transitional housing.
Black said one thing municipalities want is the HST reduced for new home construction, whether it's for-profit or non-profit housing.
"Reducing that HST for development would be a huge advantage to develop homes across the province," Black said.
New Brunswick didn't match Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island when they dropped their portion of the HST, after the federal government announced it would stop charging GST on the construction of new rental buildings to encourage faster development of housing.
As well, the union wants the province to develop a specific housing strategy for larger urban centres.
"Our cities and large towns are primary destinations for newcomers and are beacons for vulnerable populations," a document listing the priorities states.
"This equates to unaffordable housing, skyrocketing housing prices and a growing homeless population."
The provincial election is scheduled to be held Oct. 21.
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