Allen says MACA will do all it can to help Village
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (May 11/01) - Fort Simpson faces substantial funding cuts from the GNWT, but it's not as bad as it sounds, according to Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Roger Allen.
Allen, who was in Fort Simpson as part of a cabinet retreat on Thursday and Friday, said MACA and the village are working together on land administration issues.
It's hoped the village will be able to grant fee-simple titles and encourage home-ownership in order to generate more tax revenue, Allen explained. For a tax-based municipality, Fort Simpson has few rate payers.
MACA has also stepped in to help the municipality develop a capital plan and get a handle on its operating and maintenance costs.
The measures won't prevent Fort Simpson from feeling the pinch when the GNWT's new proportional funding scheme takes effect next year, Allen acknowledged.
By 2003, the village will receive $1 million less than it does through its current block funding arrangements. But there's still a one-year window to implement measures to lessen the blow, Allen suggested.
"We can do a lot of things grant-in-kind where there are specific needs," he said.
He hopes that a resource revenue sharing agreement with the federal government will allow the GNWT to designate more money for the communities in two or three years.
In the meantime, Allen urged village council to abort any notion of reverting to hamlet status in an effort to diminish the funding cuts.
"That's something I would strongly discourage at this point," he said.
