The Provincial Government of Manitoba is extending an olive branch for municipalities like Portage la Prairie regarding infrastructure costs.
The program is called Manitoba Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities, or Manitoba GRO. Rural Municipalities will be able to apply for up to 50 per cent of eligible costs by way of grant funding. A total of $42 million has been invested by the Provincial Government.
Portage city councillor Joe Masi says this is a great decision to help municipalities keep more of their funds for other projects.
"These funds are really critical to help address the infrastructure challenges faced by municipalities," explains Masi. "The other thing is it helps the revenue imbalance (for every property tax dollar the city receives) at $0.08 for municipal and you get $0.42 for the Province and $0.50 for the Federal."
City manager Nathan Peto adds that the city will be looking at the criteria given by the province to see which projects follow the guidelines for Manitoba GRO.
"We're always aware these are coming downstream," notes Peto. "So, we prepare and think about projects that we can effectively leverage that meet the mandate of this funding program. We'll be ready and we will definitely be submitting applications for this community. We're hopeful the province will choose to partner with us and create some great value for our local community."
Masi believes this announcement to be a good one and hopes Portage is successful with our application.