NIPAWIN — An innovative agreement to share property taxes from any new industrial development to help pay for infrastructure is dead.
In 2014, the Town of Nipawin, RM of Nipawin and RM of Torch River signed an agreement where the municipality hosting the development would get 60 per cent of any property tax, while the other two would share the remainder. The idea is that all three municipalities would have to spend money to support any new industrial development, no matter where it was located.
The RM of Torch River passed a resolution at its June 11 meeting to withdraw from the agreement. Town council saw a letter that informed them of that decision at its June 25 meeting.
“Once council acknowledged that withdrawal, a resolution was subsequently passed by the town stating exactly the same thing,” said Barry Elliott, the town's administrator. “They agreed to provide notice to the RM of Torch River and the RM of Nipawin of the town’s intention to withdraw from the same agreement.”
The administrator said the withdrawal will have no fiscal impact.
“In reality, it has not been applied since its inception.”
Elliott said the end of the agreement doesn’t necessarily mean the end of regional co-operation when it comes to taxes, but anything in the future would probably be part of a larger Twin Lakes regional development plan.
When the agreement was passed, it was the only one of its kind in the province.
