Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Wyatt urges vote on city sales tax

Wants 1% levy to tackle Winnipeg's infrastructure deficit

By: Bartley Kives

Posted: 09/22/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 09/22/2010 12:51 PM | Updates

Enlarge Image

Wyatt wants a 1 per cent levy to tackle Winnipeg's infrastructure deficit

The question

Here's what Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt wants to place on the Oct. 27 ballot:

Would you be willing to support the establishment of a one per cent municipal sales tax collected in the City of Winnipeg and collected on the same basis as the PST, if you knew it would be subject to the following:

1. All monies collected from such a tax would be dedicated to the renewal of existing infrastructure inside Winnipeg, such as roads, bridges, lanes, sidewalks, curbs, parks community clubs, recreation facilities, pools and libraries.

2. All monies collected would be a net increase on the existing funding of our infrastructure, based on the City of Winnipeg's adopted 2010 operating and capital budgets.

3. That the federal government match all monies collected from the new tax and that this money is subject to the two previous conditions.

4. That provincial government match all monies collected from the new tax and that this money is subject to the first two conditions.

5. That the one per cent municipal sales tax, once established, cannot be increased or decreased beyond one per cent, unless approved via a city-wide referendum question by the citizens of Winnipeg.

Related Items

Articles
- Four mayoral candidates gone from race
- Final council meeting a sombre affair

Would you be willing to pay an extra penny on a can of Coke if all the cash went toward Winnipeg's crumbling roads, bridges and buildings?

That question -- or a more legalistic version of it -- will be on Winnipeg's civic election ballot next month if Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt has his way.

The quixotic councillor wants city council to add a referendum question to the Oct. 27 ballot, asking Winnipeggers to support a one per cent municipal sales tax that would be dedicated to infrastructure renewal.

Wyatt has authored a motion to create add a non-binding referendum to the ballot. But council will only debate the motion if two-thirds of its members vote to suspend the rules and actually debate the idea at today's council meeting, the final gathering of its kind before voters go to the polls.

The motion, seconded by Daniel McIntyre Coun. Harvey Smith, calls for a referendum question that will ask voters to support a one per cent sales tax, provided the proceeds can only be used to pay for infrastructure, are matched by Manitoba and Ottawa and will not replace any other existing funding from the other two levels of government.

The motion also demands that once the municipal sales tax is in place, it cannot be increased or decreased in the future without another referendum. The tax would only be levied inside the City of Winnipeg and would generate about $130 million a year, Wyatt said in an interview.

The city needs the money right now to tackle an infrastructure deficit that stands around $3.7 billion, said Wyatt, challenging Winnipeg's mayoral candidates to support his idea.

"The time for studies are over," said Wyatt, taking a veiled shot at incumbent Sam Katz's pledge to hear from an infrastructure committee before he settles on a revenue plan for 2011.

But Wyatt also took a shot at mayoral challenger Judy Wasylycia-Leis, noting her plan to raise property taxes by two per cent a year will not generate enough revenue to whittle away at the infrastructure deficit, either.

Only Winnipeg voters can convince Ottawa and Broadway to allow more money to flow toward fixing roads and bridges, Wyatt said.

"If Winnipeggers are willing, there's no reason the province and the federal government would not follow suit," he said.

Neither mayoral candidate endorsed his plan.

Wasylycia-Leis said she'd prefer to work with other levels of government on new funding sources. Instead of addressing the sales-tax idea, she accused Katz of being wishy-washy on property taxes.

"After six years, Sam Katz still hasn't made up his mind and told Winnipeggers what he intends to do about taxes, so it's no surprise to see councillors like Russ Wyatt come up with ideas of their own," she said.

Katz said Wyatt's idea is hardly new, as the Association of Manitoba Municipalities has backed a similar idea. The mayor declined to say whether he'd support Wyatt's motion, but it's unlikely he would, as Katz has expressed a disdain for referenda since he took office in 2004.

"Councillors are elected to make decisions," the mayor said.

Wyatt said council has not made any hard decisions about infrastructure in recent years. "If they're here to lead, why haven't they done it before?" he asked.

Council has the right to place a non-binding referendum question on an election ballot. The last time a referendum took place was in 1983, assistant city clerk Marc Lemoine said. Voters were asked about nuclear disarmament and a Supreme Court case regarding French language rights.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 22, 2010 A3

History

Updated on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 12:51 PM CDT: Fixes typo

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.