This letter was originally submitted to LMT on Sept. 10, 2020. Until this publication, It hasn't been previously published.
In February, 2020, a delegation from the McKillop Taxpayers Network (MTN) made a similar request to have expenses tracked and taxes levied in a fair and equitable way. Council again refused, as they operate the RM as a “whole” municipality.
Before I proceed let us not forget that every single member of council owns property or has some other type of financial interest at or within a hamlet or the lakeshore area.
In rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, organized hamlets, by legislation, are entitled to receive between 40% - 75% of their assessed taxes to pay the expenses incurred by their hamlets. As a note of interest Councillors, LaBatte, Dixon, and Whitrow reside in organized hamlets.
In the RM of McKillop 220 the organized hamlets receive 43% of the tax revenues collected for their hamlet. This money is then directed by the hamlet to pay expenses such as: streetlights, water systems, Fire, Police, EMS, boat launches, playground equipment, sand, gravel, grading, grass mowing, capital projects, and other expenses such as hamlet social events and the like. Every year the organized hamlets prepare and present, for approval, an operating budget which includes the items just mentioned.
However, the 43% of the tax revenues that they receive far exceeds what the operating and capital costs incurred by the organized hamlets. It is important to remember that unspent revenues are retained by the organized hamlet and not returned to the RM. As a result the Organized Hamlets collectively have accumulated a significant surplus. And significant means an amount in the neighbourhood of 1/3 of the RM’s annual operating budget inclusive of the 43% that is transferred to the Organized Hamlets.
In 2018, the nine organized hamlets had a combined surplus in their annual hamlet accounts of $120,028.00. In 2019, these hamlets had a surplus of $106,088.00 (unaudited). Currently, their combined surplus, including interest, is approximately $937,633.00 and for 2020 this amount is projected to exceed ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000).
What is even more disturbing that in the last couple of years there have been organized hamlets that have suggested that the amount of tax revenues they receive should be increased from 43% to 60%. When queered why the answer was simply we need it which translates into “for no reason other than just because”.
As a quick aside Organized Hamlets could have 100% of the tax revenue all they have to do is become a Resort Village like Sunset Cove. The July 19, 2020 issue of the Last Mountain Times published an article dedicated to recognize the hard work and commitment of a, now deceased, resident that took Sunset Cove from a simple hamlet to an Organized Hamlet and then to a Resort Village. Sunset Cove now enjoys the advantages and freedoms afforded them by being an autonomous entity. The process of moving from just a group of homes to a Resort Village was the intent of the legislation which created the Organized Hamlets.
Along with this disturbingly large surplus the organized hamlets enjoy services that the rest of us don’t have, or have to pay an additional levy to receive for example: street lighting, regular grass mowing, water systems and dust control. In all fairness, council, expanded to the unorganized hamlets and upon request municipal roads immediately adjacent to farm yards but in the case of rural properties they neglected to tell us that the option was available.
What does this all mean to those of us that do not reside in an organized hamlet? Simple answer is that we pay a greater portion of the capital and operating costs of the “whole” RM.
So lets also have a look at some of the services that the organized hamlets do not have to pay for out of their 43% and as such have allowed them to sock away a million dollars: costs of bylaw enforcement in the organized hamlets which by the way in the case where enforcement has to proceed through “bylaw courts” this can be significant in the neighbourhood of $15,000; the staff, and office costs directly attributable to organized hamlet administration; project management and supervision of project work in the organized hamlets; legal, accounting and audit fees; and lets not forget they are only paying about 25% of what they should be paying for the Lagoon. Farm/rural properties are paying almost 50% of the RM’s capital costs of this infrastructure even though farms do not need it and on top of that the organized hamlets get a 43% reduction on what should be their portion.
To sum up:
The money that the organized hamlets have spent on services the rest of us do not receive, including a “bank account” of $1,000,000 is money that has been unavailable, over the years, to operate the RM as a “whole” so council, what’s with that?
The unorganized hamlets, the acreage owners, and the RM ratepayers have had to make up this amount to operate the RM of McKillop as a “whole” well council what’s with that?
As a former councillor, I know that well over 90% of council meeting time is dedicated to deal with hamlet issues.
Remember, these council members petitioned, as the RPA, for a forensic audit to find out where RM tax dollars were spent, in the hope of finding criminal activity, where none was found. And that was after the government inspection in 2017 concluded the very same thing. So council what’s with that?
Clearly, this council supports the Organized Hamlets. At the end of 2020, the Organized Hamlets’ reserves will likely exceed one million dollars. The rest of the RM taxpayers will continue to provide a significant subsidy to the “whole” RM tax revenue, while the Organized Hamlets get richer. Sounds like Robin Hood in reverse!
Also with adding dust control and who knows what else in future years to unorganized hamlets this council is sure looking after themselves and of course they are able to set the tax rates and with out having a sound understanding where the costs to operate the RM are incurred. Operating the RM as a “whole” is putting those of us that do not reside in unorganized hamlets and to a greater and greater extent those of us that reside and work to make a life and living from the land into a financial “hole”.
At what point will the government or the rest of the RM taxpayers take action to change this? When the organized hamlets’ reserves reach $2 million? $5 million? $10 million?
-Bob Wilson, Bob is a former councillor and lifelong resident of the RM of McKillop 220
Opinions and views expressed here are those of the author and don't necessarily reflect those of LMT
