UMNB happy with fiscal reform progress in budget

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The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick said there was some good news and some concerning news in this year’s provincial budget.

The organization is welcoming a commitment to the continuity of municipal fiscal reform.

“Investments in local infrastructure are essential to the economic development of our communities and the quality of life for our residents,” said UMNB president Brittany Merrifield.

Merrifield, also the mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield, said a $47.5-million increase announced in the budget is an important investment in New Brunswick communities.

A report prepared for UMNB by Dr. Craig Brett in 2023 benchmarked an infrastructure deficit of approximately $2.5 billion per year and called for $200 million per year in investment.

Last year, the province created the Capital Renewal Fund as part of municipal fiscal reform to assist municipalities in addressing their infrastructure deficits.

Fiscal reform news was welcome, but other elements of the budget were met with caution.

That included the proposed reduction in the size of the civil service and the proposed elimination of the provincial veterinary service.

UMNB said more time will be needed to understand the effect those elements could have on local governments and communities.

Pre-budget requests

UMNB had called for four key investments in its pre-budget submission, including:

  • Doubling funding for housing and infrastructure
  • Updating and operationalizing a provincial public transportation strategy
  • Committing to a digital shared service for local governments
  • Developing a municipal climate adaptation and mitigation fund

Merrifield said there were some positive developments based on UMNB’s pre-budget priorities, including funding for wildfire prevention, support for housing affordability and a modest increase to the Provincial-Municipal Highway Program.

“However, more work remains to be done,” she said.

“We continue to call on the province to diversify municipal revenues by sharing a portion of the HST to provide relief to property taxpayers, and to create a fund to support municipal climate change adaptation.”