WHEREAS municipalities are the service centres for industries and their suppliers as well as their workers and families and municipalities in northwest British Columbia have entered into a welcome period of economic growth with an estimated 30 billion worth of investment in mining, natural gas pipelines, bio-energy, power production, modernized manufacturing facilities and ports either underway or on the horizon; AND WHEREAS with economic expansion local governments in northwest BC will not be able to adequately provide infrastructure and services to support those activities without a fair share of revenue derived from incremental taxes paid to the Province to support the impacts those industries have on local infrastructure and support services; AND WHEREAS the provincial government has, since 1998, recognized this principle in northeast BC where incremental sources of revenue derived from the oil and gas businesses are shared with local municipalities through the Memorandum of Understanding the Fair Share Agreement between British Columbia and the Peace River Regional District: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM continue to advocate for a share of resource revenues being returned to communities in recognition of the services and infrastructure that local governments provide to support economic development in their region.
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. As a result, at this time government is not considering any new revenue-sharing programs, but certainly recognizes the fiscal issues being faced by local governments. Therefore 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.