Dedicated city road taxes look set to stick

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This article was published 14/07/2023 (1177 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A strategy to use dedicated property tax hikes to fund road renewal received a City of Winnipeg council endorsement to stick around through 2037.

On Thursday, members voted to use the tax plan as a long-term funding strategy and refer it for further consideration in the 2024-27 multi-year budget process.

The city began raising property taxes with the money dedicated to road renewal in 2013. For 2023, property taxes rose 3.5 per cent, with revenue from two percentage points of the increase devoted to roads and 0.33 percentage points earmarked for the Southwest Rapid Transitway.

Transitional homes for women approved

Plans to create transitional homes in the West Broadway neighbourhood for women fleeing domestic violence, while also helping them pursue education, are moving ahead.

On Thursday, council approved a subdivision and rezoning application for the project, which would have the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corp. transform two lots to provide a 15-unit building for women and children. To be eligible, the women must be seeking ways to further their education.

The future four-storey building is expected to include a counselling space and indoor communal area, with affordable monthly rents.

City makes biodiversity pledge

Winnipeg has made a new commitment to biodiversity.

On Thursday, council approved a call to sign the Montreal Pledge: Cities United in Action for Biodiversity, which supporters say will lead to more action that protects the environment.

Signing the pledge commits the City of Winnipeg to: restore and rehabilitate ecosystems; protect existing natural environments; conserve and recover vulnerable species; aim to reduce pesticide use; and ensure Indigenous participation in the process, among several other initiatives.

Multi-family waste fee potentially back in mix

Years after the idea was first trashed, a new proposal to charge residents of multi-family apartment and condo buildings a user fee for garbage collection will be considered again.

On Thursday, a plan was approved that will have council consider adding the new fee, for which an amount has not yet been set, sometime later this year.

A city report argues the levy is needed because the water and waste department is repeatedly left with a deficit for waste diversion, since recycling and other services are provided to multi-family buildings without fees to cover the cost.

A similar fee faced criticism for charging too much to those who are more likely to live on low incomes. In 2021, council rejected a proposed multi-family levy of $44 per unit, which would have raised $4.25 million this year.

Single-family homeowners currently pay $69.46/year for recycling and waste diversion services.