Province to give municipalities $297M through revenue-sharing program

Saskatchewan municipalities are to get a record-setting revenue-sharing investment from the provincial government in the next fiscal year.

Speaking at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities annual convention Wednesday in Saskatoon, Premier Scott Moe announced provincial funding through the Municipal Revenue Sharing Program in 2023-24 will be more than $297 million.

The previous record for the program was $278 million in 2020-21. The annual average for the past five years is more than $261 million.

“Saskatchewan’s municipal revenue sharing program is nation-leading, and as a predictable funding source, it helps municipal governments support and plan for local priorities in their communities,” Moe said in a media release. “This new record provincial investment will benefit both rural and urban communities and keep our great province strong.”

According to the release, the funding for 2023-24 represents a 13 per cent increase from the current year. The annual investment is based on three-quarters of one point of Provincial Sales Tax revenue collected two years earlier.

The government said the Targeted Sector Support Initiative will once again get $1.5 million from the total. The initiative, which is co-managed by the provincial government and municipal partners, invests in projects the government said “advance shared priority areas such as good governance, regional planning, and inter-community collaboration.”

More details about the investment are to be included in the provincial budget, which is to be released March 22.