| Mayors,
Reeves and CAO's Meetings
2009
March
16-24, 2009
The annual Mayors, Reeves and CAOs meetings were held
over a two week period in each of the AMM's seven districts
(with the exception of the Central District, which was
cancelled due to inclement weather).
 Discussion
topics - The following
topics were presented at the 2009 AMM Mayors, Reeves
& CAO's meetings:
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Executive
Director Joe Masi |
President
Doug Dobrowolski |
Rural Vice-President
Roger Wilson |
Urban Vice-President
Shirley Kalyniuk |
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Follow
up questions
The questions below were asked at this year's Mayors,
Reeves and CAOs meetings. Answers will be posted as
they become available. Keep checking for updates!
AMM Questions
Infrastructure Update
Gas Tax
Snapshots
Green Issues
Healthy Communities
Policing Issues
Water Issues
Onsite Wastewater Management Regulation
Other Issues
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Cowan
Community Centre welcomed Parkland District Mayors,
Reeves and CAOs |
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Midwestern
District delegates clap appreciatively |
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Western District
delegates |
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| Eastern
District delegates |
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Interlake
District delegates |
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Northern
District delegates with the AMM Executive |
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Answers |
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AMM
Questions |
| Why
is only $150 provided for vision care through municipal
plans? |
The current package of benefits is negotiated
between AMM and HED. Any changes would have to be
agreed to by both parties. Any increase to the coverage
offered would result in higher premiums being paid.
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| Where
is the MTCML catalogue on the AMM website? |
|
Infrastructure
Update |
| When
will money flow on the Building Canada Fund? |
The AMM has been told that announcements
on successful projects will be made by mid-April.
The AMM has been left out of the selection process
for applications, so we are waiting to see which projects
applied and who will receive funding. Our understanding
is all necessary steps have been made in Parliament
to get the funding flowing to communities.
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| Will
there be a separate intake and application process for
the new Recreation Infrastructure Fund? |
The RInC Program will be administered
on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested
we encourage you to get in touch with Western Economic
Diversification, which will be administering the program.
WD Manitoba, The Cargill Building, Suite 250, 240
Graham Avenue
Mailing Address:
Suite 620, 240 Graham Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3C 2L4
Telephone: (204) 983-4472
Toll Free: 1 888 338-WEST (9378)
Teletypewriter (TTY): 1 877 303-3388
Fax: (204) 983-3852
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| Can
Growing Forward be used for rural pipelines? |
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| Does
recreation rehabilitation money have to be to a LEED standard?
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| Does
Winnipeg have to go through the same application process
as other municipalities for the Building Canada Fund? |
Winnipeg is not eligible for the Communities
Component of the Building Canada Fund, as this is
designed to service communities under 100,000 people
and their unique needs. Winnipeg is eligible for the
Major Infrastructure Component of the program, as
are all municipalities. This stream is intended for
larger scale projects of national and regional importance.
This is not an application based process.
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| Has
AMM heard of a $10 million ceiling per project? |
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Gas
Tax |
| When
will new rebate numbers be available? |
At the end of the 2009/2010 allocation
the funding formula will be reviewed. While the exact
totals are not know, the overall funding will be maintained
at year 5 (2009) levels and municipalities can expect
to receive roughly what they received in 2009, adjusted
for population numbers from the latest census.
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| How
long can you bank your Gas Tax Rebate? |
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| How
do we find out if a project is eligible? |
Eligibility criteria
are laid out in the agreement each municipality signed.
If you have any specific questions your best bet is
to contact Tyler
MacAfee , AMM Director of Policy & Communications
to discuss your project specifics.
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Snapshots |
| Who
appoints the PUB Board? |
According to The Public
Utilities Board Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council
appoints the members of the PUB Board and designates
a member to serve as chair and another member to serve
as vice-chair.
Note that the phrase “Lieutenant Governor in
Council” means the Lieutenant Governor acting
“by and with the advice of” the Provincial
Cabinet.
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| What
do municipalities get for TLE agreements in Saskatchewan? |
In Saskatchewan compensation
rates are 90 percent of the annual net tax loss and
70 per cent of the education tax loss. This compensation
is available to rural municipalities for 25 years
and to urban municipalities in perpetuity. As well,
the Federal Government assists the municipal tax collection
process in Saskatchewan by paying the municipal taxes
after a period of 75 days. This ensures municipalities
maintain consistent income during negotiations.
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Green
Issues |
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| What
will be the location sites for HHW? |
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| Who
do municipalities contact to get tires picked up? |
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| Is
there a site for E-waste disposal in Winnipeg? |
There are a couple
of options for the disposal of electronic waste. There
are companies in Winnipeg that accept the material,
although there may be a charge. A list is available
here.
Green Manitoba also
organizes electronic waste recycling events throughout
the province. Once these are announced for 2009 we
will let you know. You can also find further information
on recycling on Green
Manitoba’s website.
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Healthy
Communities |
| What
is the website for the Age-Friendly Initiative? |
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Policing
Issues |
| Does
the review of The Police Act include RCMP? |
The Act identifies how municipalities must provide police services based on size and type (urban or rural). It includes provisions that certain municipalities can enter agreements with the RCMP to provide police services, however these agreements are outside the scope of this legislation.
The proposed amendments, under Bill 16 – The Police Services Act, govern only municipal and regional police services.
The Provincial Police Services Agreement is the contract with the RCMP and a new agreement is now being negotiated for implementation in 2012.
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| How
do by-law enforcement officers fit into The Police Act
review? |
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Water
Issues |
| What
is in the revised CD Framework Document? |
The AMM, working with
the CD Association and Water Stewardship, redrafted
the original Framework for the Future discussion document.
The AMM feels this is a stronger document and adopts
a more cooperative approach with municipalities. Copies
of the document are available through Manitoba Water
Stewardship.
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| Is
urban drainage considered a minor works under new requirements? |
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| Does
MIT have to follow these guidelines? |
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| Who
is liable for drainage if work is wrong? |
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| Who
is letting people know they should be doing this? |
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| How
do you define minor works? |
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Onsite
Wastewater Management Regulation (answers provided by the Provincial Government) |
| What
is the science behind the onsite changes? |
The prohibition on disposal fields in provincial Parks, on Crown land Cottage Development, sensitive areas and highly developed portions of the Red River Corridor will provide an extra measure of environmental protection for these environmentally sensitive areas and for Lake Winnipeg.
The use of alternative disposal fields and advanced treatment systems will produce a better quality of effluent prior to its dispersal into the subsoil where it is further treated by the organisms naturally found in the soil. This better quality effluent is less harmful to the environment and will reduce nutrient enriched runoff from residential areas to both surface water and groundwater.
Water quality will be proactively and more effectively protected by mandatory wastewater management planning that ensures there is adequate sewage treatment capacity available for present and future municipal development.
The proposed amendments, together with eliminating phosphorus in dishwashing detergents and fertilizers used in urban and residential areas, will significantly reduce phosphorus enriched runoff from residential areas into Manitoba surface waters.
Sewage ejectors are a very basic form of sewage disposal and spray partially treated sewage onto the ground. Phosphorus accumulates in these spray sites and disease organisms potentially may also be present. Disposal fields offer additional treatment of wastewater and reduce the possibility of uncontrolled runoff of partially treated wastewater. There are environmental and human health concerns associated with the partially treated wastewater deposited on the ground by sewage ejectors. Disposal fields offer additional treatment of wastewater and reduce the possibility of uncontrolled runoff of partially treated wastewater. Moving toward elimination of ejector systems will more effectively protect human health and the environment.
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| Will
septic fields have to be removed on 1-2 acre lots when
the land is sold? |
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| Who
will enforce this regulation? |
Environment Officers in Manitoba Conservation. In the future, eight new staff will be hired with a focus on the protection of water quality.
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Other
Issues |
| Municipalities
have concerns with some buildings being connected to hydro
without having obtained proper building permits. Why won't
Manitoba Hydro just refuse service until they have proper
building permits? |
Manitoba Hydro cannot refuse electrical service unless there are violations of the electrical code. To request confirmation of building permits would be against the privacy act.
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