WHEREAS the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Program was established by provincial statute to provide a source of revenue to participating municipalities to offset expenses related to the use of local government roads and highways as a result of commercial vehicle traffic; AND WHEREAS the license fees established by Regulation 40593 under the Local Government Act have not been increased since 1994 and do not address the impact of heavy industrial traffic use of local government roads and highways: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be requested to provide compensation to local governments to assist with the burden of infrastructure maintenance costs associated with ongoing use of local government roads and highways by heavy industrial vehicles.
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Provincial highways are under the purview and responsibility of the Province. This includes signage, maintenance and capital improvements of the provincial highway system. Municipal roads are under the purview and responsibility of municipalities. Thus, municipalities are responsible for raising revenue to fund the ongoing capital and maintenance of their own municipal road systems. The Province is not prepared to provide compensation to municipalities for their road systems. However, the Province would be prepared to review the Municipal Act Fees Regulation No. 1 BC Reg 40593, which sets licensing fees for commercial vehicles. This would be done in consultation with affected stakeholders. Ministry of Finance After the onset of the world financial crisis in 2008, provincial revenues deteriorated significantly and created a significant operating deficit after several years of budget surpluses. In Budget 2009 September Update, the government presented a 5-year plan to return to a balanced budget by 201314. We are still following this plan, and it has meant making very difficult fiscal decisions. By restraining spending as we have, we are managing to keep income taxes among the lowest in Canada and have preserved our AAA credit rating, allowing us to pay lower interest rates on the funds we do borrow, which in turn helps to hold the line on taxation. In Budget 2012, we projected a very modest 154 million surplus for 201314. On a budget of over 44 billion annually, this is a thin margin. With the current economic situation in Europe and elsewhere, achieving this target continues to be a challenge. We continue to encourage you to work with the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and other ministries as appropriate to arrive at creative solutions to the infrastructure and related issues that you are facing.