The many roles of the AMM

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This article was published 15/04/2015 (3805 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) has always had a lot on its plate.

AMM executive director Joe Masi said municipalities are on the front lines when it comes to providing many of the day-to-day services across the province.

“The demands are getting greater,” he said. “You’re the front line.”

The AMM provides organizational support for Manitoba’s 137 municipalities. Working out of an office at 1910 Saskatchewan Ave. W in Portage la Prairie, staff arrange annual meetings in the seven districts across the province, liaise with provincial and federal governments, and lobby for policy and regulatory changes on behalf of its members and provide communications, among other duties.

The AMM is governed by a board of 14 elected members (two from each district), and a president and two vice-presidents elected by all municipal representatives at their annual general meeting. The AMM belongs to the national Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Masi said infrastructure, and how to pay for it, is the biggest issue facing municipalities.

“I think we’ve made some great progress,” he said, citing recent federal and provincial funding programs and the federal gas tax rebate given to all municipalities.

He said municipalities now just get between eight and nine cents of every federal tax dollar, and this needs to increase as municipalities are being pressured to deliver more services — some of which used to be federal or provincial government responsibilities. Revenue coming from municipal property taxes isn’t enough to cover all expenses.

Affordable housing for seniors is one example of a service that some municipalities are involved in providing through supplying land or financial help, Masi said.

He said the trend is for adjacent municipalities to work together on land development and planning.

“We have agreements between municipalities to provide recreation and other services,” Masi said.

Some municipalities, such as Macdonald and Headingley, have increasing residential development and rely on development agreements to ensure that new infrastructure and service costs are shared with the developers.

“It’s a balancing act for councils,” Masi said.

Although the AMM ran a program designed to attract women to municipal politics, the outcome of last year’s municipal election showed that only roughly 15 per cent of the candidates were women.

Masi said he’s noticed the number of younger municipal councillors is holding steady, which is a good sign.

“There’s just a lot more on their plates,” he said.

For more information on the AMM, visit www.amm.mb.ca