Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig saw a number of positives in the provincial budget that was handed down March 20.
Ludwig was pleased to see added support through provincial revenue sharing, and a commitment to have passing lanes from Estevan to Weyburn. There is also money for upgrades to Souris Avenue South from Fourth Street to Perkins Street through the Urban Connectors program.
Direct provincial supports for municipalities will total $437.1 million for the coming year, supporting infrastructure projects and community initiatives through the municipal revenue sharing program (MRS), which give local governments the funds they need to properly administer and grow their community and economy.
This represents a $25.4 million, or 6.2 per cent increase, over 2018-19.
Following a thorough review and consultation on the MRS program, it was announced that overall funding would increase to $251.6 million.
Urban municipalities will receive $161.3 million. A breakdown for how much money Estevan would receive was not available.
“It’s moving in the positive direction, so we’re happy about that,” the mayor said.
The exclusion of Estevan’s new regional nursing home from the budget was disappointing to the mayor.
“The only thing that we were a little bit disappointed with is the fact that we’ve had our money in place, and have been patiently waiting for our new nursing home for many years, and … we’ve been denied again. So we’ll have to continue to lobby the province, with the hope that … some day soon we’re going to get that new nursing home that we seriously need.”
The city will also continue to press the government about the future of the community. Now that the government has decided not to retrofit Units 4 and 5 with carbon capture and storage technology, the city is hopeful the government will support retrofitting Unit 6 at Boundary Dam and the unit at the Shand Power Station.
But the budget did not include funding to help Estevan in this time of transition.
The mayor pointed out that there was also money in the budget for a new elementary school and a new hospital in Weyburn, both of which Ludwig said are much-needed projects in that community, and he doesn’t begrudge the government for providing that support to Weyburn.
