MB budget changes how school taxes are paid

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2024 (416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a $24-billion provincial budget with $796 million of deficit spending, it is the revenue side of the ledger that many property owners will notice.

Starting next year, only farmers will still get the 50 percent school tax rebate. For homeowners, in its place is a $1,500 tax credit.

“Eighty-three percent of Manitobans are going to be better off under this initiative, so I would invite the average homeowner… to compare the cheque that you got under the PCs with the $1,500 tax credit that we’re committing here to today,” said Premier Wab Kinew during an online rural media meeting after the budget was presented Tuesday.

There is no rebate or credit for business property owners in this year’s budget plan.

“When we talk about commercial property, we’re in the process of designing a new school funding formula which will be rolling out for next year,” said Kinew.

The paused new Ste Anne School was not in the budget. The NDP when sworn into office stopped the construction of schools using a public-private partnership (P3) model, which included Ste Anne’s. Only two new schools in Winnipeg are moving ahead this year.

Tache gets arena money

Money is also coming in this budget for the new Tache Community Centre in Lorette that will house an arena, library, six changerooms and walking track.

Kinew promised during last fall’s election to add another $5 million to the $3.67 million the last government pledged. Another $4.6 million is coming from the federal government.

“We’re fulfilling that election commitment and that money is in the budget that we unveiled today. It was pretty meaningful to be there last summer, early fall, to speak to people from Lorette and surrounding communities to hear about the importance of staying active and having a venue for young people,” said Kinew.

But how much the province will actually give now that the budget has ballooned to over $28.5 million based on a design approved by Tache council in October is unknown. The total project cost estimate in January 2023 was $11-million.

“The amount that’s in the budget today is where we’re going to begin but we know this is an important project, and so we’re going to work to ensure that this thing gets built,” said Kinew.

Fundraising is underway by the RM.

“This is a major step in the right direction toward moving the project forward and getting it to the finish line. Once constructed, the new Tache Community Center will benefit and provide programming for all residents of Lorette, Landmark, Ste Geneviève, Ross and Linden, to enjoy for many years to come,” stated Tache CAO Ken Allen via email, adding a final project cost estimate is premature.

“Currently we are working to review and refine the preliminary design for the project, and we are working closely with the project management team and architectural firm to finalize the plan and design in the weeks ahead. It is expected that some adjustments will be made to the design in order to incorporate any potential cost-saving opportunities.”

$1 billion more for health care

The biggest dollars for any provincial budget go to health care. This budget increases last year’s budget by nearly $1 billion to $8.22 billion, though the actual amount spent in the last budget shows it went over by $902 million.

Regional health authorities going over their budgets is why the new NDP government has ordered audits for each one except Southern Health.

“The Minister of Health Uzoma Asagwara and myself, we recently sat down with the leadership of Southern Health-Sante Sud and we just asked them, how are you folks doing it?

“You know, there are a lot of challenges in the Southern Health region. I’m sure they’ll identify many of the needs that they have, and yet in spite of the fact that they’re dealing with the same challenges around staffing and agency nurses, they still seem to deliver on budget consistently.”

“And so we’re looking to, first of all say thank-you to Southern Health for the important work that they do to deliver health care for people in the region, and to do so on budget. But we’re also looking to learn from that experience so we can share that with other service delivery organizations… in health care because really we want health care to be delivered in the highest quality fashion. And we think one of the ways to deliver quality health care long-term is to ensure it’s fiscally responsible,” said Kinew.

The premier added that Southern Health has a culture of trust and support that helps with its financial goals.

Southern Health responded to a request to speak with someone about its budgeting with a statement through media relations. It read that Southern Health has maintained a balanced budget since the organization was formed in 2012.

“An annual financial reporting schedule is closely followed which requires the finance team to regularly report directly to the senior leadership and board of directors in an effort to maintain accountability. Every program has an assigned financial analyst who oversees budget tracking and ongoing engagement with regional leaders takes place throughout the year to ensure budget management processes are closely followed,” read the statement.

“These efforts include the prioritization of projects and budget needs to ensure funds are shared and high priority needs are addressed. All efforts are made to keep administrative costs to a minimum so funds can be prioritized for patient care,” concluded the statement.

Kinew also acknowledged Southern Health and all other health services were looking for more investment.

The budget calls for hiring 1,000 new health-care workers:100 doctors, 210 nurses, 90 paramedics and 600 health care aids.

Recruitment and training those workers was budgeted $309.5 million. The rural doctor recruitment fund is also being restored.

One of the first acts by this NDP government was to first pause and then shut down the surgical and diagnostic task force assigned to find ways to shorten wait times in the short-term. Instead, a new CancerCare headquarters is to be built in Winnipeg, $66.7 million goes to increase bed capacity and reduce ER wait times, $25.2 million is for increasing ICU capacity, and $47.28 million is to “connect more Manitobans with a family doctor,” according to the budget documents.

There is also a new personal care home coming to Lac du Bonnet, and $22.3 million for better senior care including more direct hours of care in care homes and implementing a new safe and healthy at home program so more seniors can keep living at home. There will also be a new independent seniors’ advocate.

Other health-related initiatives include free birth control, doubling the fertility tax credit to $163 for families trying to have a family, a plastic health card to replace the paper one, and more rural ambulances.

Two new Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) offices will now be in rural communities at a cost of $200,000, though which ones have not been chosen yet.

“We’re very excited about this. We think that decentralizing services, ensuring that there’s not only the MASC service centre but also the economic activity that comes along with that: the rent that’s being paid and the employment position that’s returning to a community,” said Kinew, who want the offices open this year.

Other budget items include an extension of the 14-cent per litre gas tax holiday to the end of September; $4,000 rebates for new and $2,500 for used electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles; expanding $10 per day childcare year-round to non-school days with $20.9 million to support new child-care spaces and increase wages for childcare workers; $575 renters tax credit; $58.9 million increase for municipalities; $3.9 million to establish a supervised consumption site in Winnipeg, addiction treatment beds, and support harm reduction services; $540 million capital investments in highways and other transportation and water-related infrastructure; $1.5 million to increase the number of apprenticeship training seats; $300 rebates for home or business security systems; lower rents on agricultural Crown lands; and no PST on new housing construction.

The government has promised to balance the budget in four years, saying it can be done through economic growth, a slowdown in inflation, and lower interest rates.

“And if anyone tries to tell you it can’t be done – we’re going to prove them wrong. Just watch us,” said Finance Minister Adrien Sala when he introduced the budget in the legislature.