Sorry, Madam Chair.
---Laughter
The mandate of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is to provide community governments with the support to deliver public programs and services essential to sound community life, to assist with the development and maintenance of community governments, and to provide the resources necessary to achieve community goals.
The Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development met with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and his staff on February 19, 2004, to review the department's draft main estimates for 2004-2005.
Property Assessment Positions
MACA is requesting forced growth funding of $495,000 for three new property assessment positions which it advises are needed in order to clear a backlog. The department estimated that additional property tax revenues resulting from completed assessments could amount to $3 to $4 million per year. The committee is concerned that this will be an ongoing expense for the department in future years and there does not appear to be a joint strategy between MACA and Finance, which is responsible for setting mill rates and collecting property taxes, to ensure additional revenues will be sufficient to make this investment worthwhile. In any case, it will be some time before the revenue is even sufficient to offset the assessment costs. Members noted the following specific concerns:
- 1 There are no apparent plans to prioritize the assessment of high revenue potential properties, such as resource development properties over lower revenue potential properties, such as residences;
- 2 There is a backlog of assessment appeals, the outcome of which could impact on assessment values and consequently property tax revenues;
- 3 There are no apparent plans to collect tax arrears more aggressively;
- 4 Other alternatives to assessments may be possible for some properties, for example, MACA could look at indexing older properties with established assessments instead of reassessing them.
The department also advised the committee that they have attempted to address some of the backlog by contracting the work to the private sector, but have had difficulty finding enough contractors for all the work. Considering that private contracts are often more lucrative than salary and benefits, Members are sceptical that the Department will be successful in recruiting three full-time assessors.
The standing committee recommends that funding for three new property assessors be taken out of the 2004-2005 main estimates.
The committee would be pleased to reconsider this proposal during the next business plan reviews if MACA and Finance are able to come forward jointly with a strong business case for investing in additional property assessment resources.
Community Financial Services
The standing committee noted the large increase in this division's other expenses. The department explained the increases were made in response to recommendations from the Auditor General that MACA improve its financial advice to community governments because so many communities were running deficits. The committee was advised that the funds have largely been spent hiring contractors to assist communities. For example, communities often have difficulty recruiting and retaining senior administrative officers and financial officers, and need temporary replacements for these positions.
The standing committee suggested that services could be provided more cost-effectively by using departmental staff rather than contractors.
The standing committee also suggested that the School of Community Government should increase its efforts to train people committed to staying in the communities so that there would be less of a turnover problem. The standing committee also warns it is important bad management practices not be seen to be rewarded and that additional resources are made available to communities in financial difficulty.
Transfer Of Commissioners' Land To Communities
The standing committee advised the Minister of their concerns about delays in transferring Commissioner's lands to municipal governments, particularly in the Inuvik and North Slave regions. These delays are placing limitations on development. The Minister acknowledged the need to rectify this problem, although it is not entirely within MACA's control to do so. The department indicated it has hired a consultant to review its lands policies, which may provide some assistance. The committee recommends that MACA take a leadership role in simplifying and expediting the transfer process within all existing policies.
The standing committee will continue to monitor this issue.
Arctic Winter Games
The committee is aware that the Arctic Winter Games International Committee has a policy in place until 2010 that it will not consider bids involving more than one host municipality. Members see this policy as unfair to smaller communities and requested that the department continue to work on this issue and do what it can to influence the International Committee.
Youth Programs
The standing committee is concerned that there is a Minister responsible for Youth but that the funding for youth programs is included within MACA's budget. This creates confusion about where funding applications should be directed and does not serve the public well.
The standing committee looks forward to seeing this situation resolved by the Premier as soon as possible.
Planning Act
The standing committee was pleased to learn that MACA is undertaking a review of the Planning Act in cooperation with the NWT Association of Communities in order to address many longstanding concerns with the outdated act.
Squatters
The standing committee was advised that the department is working with the Akaitcho Territory and Canada on a common approach to dealing with squatters in the Yellowknife area. As part of this effort, the department has developed a database to track who is living on the Ingraham Trail.
Members were pleased to hear of the progress on this issue and look forward to further updates.
Performance Measures For Grants And Contributions
The standing committee noted that the MACA budget includes significant grants and contributions. While the department monitors the financial management of community governments quite closely, the committee believes the department could do more to develop performance measures to ensure value and accountability.
Maintenance Of Community Infrastructure
Members have noted that while significant dollars are invested into community infrastructure, the resources are not always put into maintenance and upkeep. Members gave examples of community facilities being allowed to deteriorate resulting in a need for expensive repairs.
The Minister acknowledged this is a concern, and advised that the department is training the recreation facility managers to work with coordinators to work towards better maintenance programs. The committee looks forward to update the success of this initiative.
Land For Access Road From Highway No. 3 To Kam Lake
The committee was advised that discussions are taking place at the staff level between the City of Yellowknife and MACA to address the matter of land availability to develop an access road from Highway No. 3 to Kam Lake. Members look forward to hearing of further progress on this issue.
Duplication Of Functions
Committee Members noted several apparent duplications of functions and would encourage government to consider whether addressing these areas could save costs. The community governance division appears to overlap and duplicate some Aboriginal Affairs activities. The sport and recreation division needs to be streamlined and thought needs to be given on how it will work with the new NWT Council of Sport and Recreation partners and whether some resources should be transferred out of the department. In terms of community preparedness, there is also duplication with MACA and RWED on the pipeline development.
Members were pleased to hear that the department has given consideration to the Deloitte and Touche report which recommends dismantling MACA. The committee understands, however, that the NWTAC had opposition to the total dismantling. The committee would like to suggest that even if dismantling the department altogether is not an option, there is an opportunity to deal with some of the specific duplication issues mentioned in that report. Committee Members hope to see changes in the next business plan.
That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development, Madam Chair.
---Applause