UMNB / Union of the Municipalities of NB / Union des municipalités du N.-B.

The importance of broadband internet availability. Thumbs-up to our members in Ville de Dieppe N.-B./ City of Dieppe NB and Town of Quispamsis ! L'importance de la disponibilité de l'internet à haut vitesse. Bravo à nos membres de la Ville de Dieppe et de la Ville de Quispamsis !

"The funding includes $5.9 billion in short-term funding that will be disbursed on a project-by-project basis, starting this year. The rest is to go toward the creation of a permanent transit fund of $3 billion per year starting in 2026. Money from that fund will be earmarked following consultations with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities. Trudeau said the permanent transit fund is meant to provide stable funding so municipalities can build and expand their public transit systems."

Funding Announcement

"Allain said the differences emerge in how municipalities acted. Some closed doors and let go of staff almost immediately, while others attempted to continue offering partial services while employing workers. Costs then began to outstrip revenues in some cases.... 'Some communities avoided some costs, some municipalities managed the best way they could,' Allain said. 'There were big decisions made in March, April, and May. 'There was no silver bullet, we didn't know where the pandemic was going, so different approaches were used.'"

Three months until municipal elections. Who runs for council? We asked our members. // Trois mois avant les élections municipales. Qui se présente aux élections municipales ? Nous avons demandé à nos membres.

In case you missed it in this week's bulletin, tomorrow's webinar on municipal cybersecurity best practices seems topical. Register at the link. Au cas où vous l'auriez manqué dans le bulletin de cette semaine, le webinaire de demain sur les meilleures pratiques municipales en matière de cybersécurité semble pertinent. Inscrivez-vous sur le lien.

"Alex Scholten, president of the Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick, said in an interview that the move ultimately ensures fairness. 'If we've got one resident that pays one rate and the resident next to them who has the same value property paying a different rate, it doesn't have the perception for those residents of fairness,' the [deputy] mayor of New Maryland said. But Scholten did acknowledge that it's 'unfortunate' that the corrective measure will hit New Brun...swickers amid a pandemic, something he believes municipalities will need to keep in mind when they set property taxes rates in the year ahead. 'We know there's a need to keep property tax rates as low as possible,' he said. Scholten added that the move by the Higgs government is a first step to larger reforms that have been promised."

We need local government reform in New Brunswick, and property assessments should reflect actual market value, said Alex Scholten, president of the Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick. The elimination of the P-gap sends is a signal that this government is committed to meaningful municipal reform and it is a first step to giving municipalities the financial tools to build our communities.

"Premier Blaine Higgs says he's found $8.3 million more to transfer to municipalities... The Higgs government will announce legislation as early as Wednesday to eliminate what's known as the 'Assessment Gap Exemption,' a move that effectively returns properties across the province to 'real and true market value assessments.'"

"The speech mentions plans for reforms to local governance and health care, asking what lessons the pandemic has taught the province about more "co-operation" in the health system. On local government reform, "it's time to move to action and implementation" of ideas from the "dozens of studies" that already exist on the issue, the speech says. "