Province pulls basement flooding subsidy from city, puts program in peril

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This article was published 17/08/2016 (3576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A decision by the Pallister government to end a subsidy to a city program that helped homeowners offset the cost of basement flooding protection has jeopardized the continuation of the initiative.

Members of Winnipeg city council were recently informed that the provincial government decided against providing $500,000 towards the city’s $1-million subsidy for the installation of in-line backwater valves and sump pump pit drainage systems.

City hall has been offering the subsidy, which refunds 60 per cent of the cost of purchase and installation of the systems, since 2011. The program has always been dependent on provincial participation.

Moira Geer, acting director of the water and waste department, said council budgeted $500,000 towards the program this year but the money can’t be disbursed without the province’s participation.

Geer said that while the number of homeowners applying for the subsidy has been decreasing, her department has received 107 applications this year, for a total of $220,000.

“We still think there is a value to the program and we’ll be recommending that we be allowed to disburse the funds that council has set aside,” Geer said.

No explanation was given by the provincial government for refusing to continue funding the subsidy.

A request for an interview with Indigenous and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke was rejected but a spokesman for Clarke said provincial funding was initially provided on a three-year basis, for the years 2011 to 2013, and continued funding was dependent on annual reviews.

Even though council has funds for the program, city hall is usually desperate at this time of year to find department savings wherever they can and it’s not certain Geer’s recommendation will attract the minimum nine votes needed on council to authorize the release of the funds. 

Coun. Brian Mayes, chairman of the civic environment committee that oversees the water and waste department, said he isn’t certain council will authorize spending the funds without provincial support but he said he will support the administration recommendation.

“I’m not going to question the province’s decision because they have their own budgetary problems,” Mayes (St. Vital) said. “I haven’t seen the numbers but the department believes the program is worthwhile and we have the money set aside for it so I think we should allow the change.”

Mayes said when the former NDP government walked away from a similar jointly funded program to combat Dutch Elm disease, council did not continue the initiative and it was heavily criticized for that decision.

Geer said since the program was launched in 2011, about 3,500 homeowners have received funding for the installation of in-line backwater valves and sump pump pit drainage systems. Geer said 390 homeowners received funding in 2015.

The subsidies only apply to homes constructed when the building code did not require the installation of the system.

While the city has been accepting applications for the subsidy, it has told homeowners the funds cannot be released until the province agrees to participate. Geer said the city will continue to accept applications pending council’s decision on the department’s recommendation. 

Applications are approved in the order they are received until the funds are exhausted. Details on the basement flooding prevention program are available the city’s website.

Geer said the department will present a report this fall for the environment committee’s consideration, which will then be voted on by all of council.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca