More money for roads and drainage in Stuartburn budget

Property tax bills in Stuartburn are up this year driven by a big 35.11 percent jump in property value assessment.

The RM council did drop the combined mill rate to alleviate the assessment increase from the province by over nine percent from 17.015 to 15.418, a difference of 1.597 and the lowest mill rate since before 2020.

Reeve Michelle Gawronsky said she was happy to have the extra money for roads and drainage projects, but council did not want to overburden ratepayers with such a large increase in assessment.

“We recognize challenges that ratepayers have with the cost of everything right now being so high, and listening to the ratepayers we felt it was in everyone’s best interest to lower our mill rate,” said Gawronsky.

The $3.26-million budget includes a $125,000 increase for transportation services, bringing it to $985,440. This is over 30 percent of the budget and includes road work.

Gawronsky said gravel work is happening southeast of Vita and in other problem areas. The RM is divided into three areas so that road work can rotate to a different area each year, she explained.

The province has helped fund a $39,065 honeycomb pilot project that could potentially make roads and crossings in the low lying areas of Stuartburn last longer. It is giving nearly $20,000 through the Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities (GRO) program.

Gawronsky first saw the process of using limestone and other rock material instead of culverts as part of her role on the board with the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District.

“One of the farmers, he actually used the honeycomb in his approaches to get onto his field because of the big, heavy equipment, and the amount of water that flows through. He put the honeycomb in instead of culverts,” explained Gawronsky.

She said the real test on whether using rocks instead of culverts can work long-term will come when water levels are back up to normal levels. Gawronsky hopes roads can be built better to last 10 years and maintained every three years instead of being washed out every spring.

Economic development services includes drainage and retention. It is up from last year’s actual of $230,697 to $306,531 this year. It has $78,000 for land drainage.

The RM is working on draining without negatively affecting neighbouring municipalities like Hanover. It is starting at the end of the drain on its west side.

Largest retention pond in MB

Retention is the goal on the east side near Sundown. Through the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District, Stuartburn received a $69,300 climate adaptation grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for a feasibility study.

“That is where we are looking at having the biggest retention pond in the province of Manitoba so we can expect the water to be on Horseshoe lake in the RM of Piney; we’re not pushing it north and west so we’re not flooding out the RM of Hanover, La Broquerie, De Salaberry,” said Gawronsky.

She added that doors on drainage and retention collaboration have been re-opened with Minnesota neighbours to the south after the COVID pandemic left a communication gap.

The largest capital spending is $200,000 for a fire pumper replacement with another $566,745 dedicated to it next year, but that is dependent on what happens with American tariffs.

There is also $100,000 in this budget to start the process of expanding the lagoon, which is still penciled in for 2027 at a cost of $2 million.