Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 20/00) - Most communities stand to get more money over the next three years through a proposed funding formula.
The department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) says it is a more simple and fair way to distribute money to the communities.
The new policy is based on population, the Northern Cost Index, which takes into account the degree of isolation and the community's total assessed value.
The policy will be phased in between 2001 and 2004. It also freezes all grants in lieu taxes at the current level.
MACA communication advisor Shaun Dean said the formula is a more effective way to distribute funds for the cash-strapped territorial government.
"It means good news to most communities," Dean said. "Only three communities will see serious reductions over the course of the next three years."
Several communities, like Fort Simpson and Tuktoyaktuk, will be hit hard by the new plan.
Dean said formula financing will replace both Municipal Operating Assistance Program (MOAP) and the Settlement Operating Assistance Program (SOAP), which MACA felt were too complicated to administer than the new plan.
"The other formulas had some 50 factors you had to take into account, including going out and counting how many culverts you had in town," Dean said. "It was a little bit of overkill.
"The new formula will accomplish the same thing without getting into that kind of detail."
The policy is only a proposal, and still needs to be approved by the GNWT.
"It will be considered in February when they review the department's business plans and at that point we will know whether we can go forward with this," he said.
If the formula is approved, implementation will begin April 1, 2001.
