SASKATOON — The RM of Corman Park will submit two resolutions to the upcoming Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention calling on the province to match library funding to the rate of inflation and to increase road haul fees to a level capable of funding infrastructure needs.
During their Jan. 28 meeting, councillors passed two motions approving the resolutions for consideration during the 2025 annual SARM convention from March 11-13.
As noted in an administration report, any RM who is a member of SARM can submit resolutions for consideration and voting during the annual and mid-term conventions.
The deadline for submissions to the upcoming convention had already passed, but administration had reached out to SARM and was able to arrange an extension to Jan. 29.
The first resolution was drafted at the request of the Wheatland Regional Library, which noted in a letter that the Town of Aberdeen had put forward a similar resolution to a Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention.
Corman Park’s resolution calls on SARM to advocate to the province that the public library system should be funded “to keep pace with inflation as well as current trends and technologies.”
This is meant to ensure that both large and small community libraries can meet the programming, educational and communal needs that are an integral part of library services, the resolution notes.
In a rationale included with the resolution, the RM indicates that it saved approximately $1.6 million per year in 2023 and 2024 by borrowing physical materials from libraries, and the ongoing operation of public libraries are integral to the well-being of its residents.
“If proper funding is not provided by the province, the RM will have to make difficult decisions, including an increase in taxation to maintain services or to decrease funding and, consequently, reduce services.”
At a Jan. 14 administration committee meeting, Division 4 Councillor David Greenwood, who sits on the Wheatland library board, spoke in favour of the resolution.
“This is a simple ask, and I think we can support this,” he said, noting that the City of Saskatoon charges a library tax to fund its public libraries.
Road haul fees
The second resolution approved by council notes that there is currently no mechanism in place for adjusting the legislated road hauling fees charged by municipalities for bulk hauling, which can pose significant wear and tear on roads.
Because the current fees are not reflective of the actual costs incurred by municipalities to maintain an acceptable level of service for transportation infrastructure, the resolution would have SARM lobby the province to first increase the fees to an acceptable rate and to ensure that fees are reviewed annually.
A further rationale for the resolution notes that the RM of Corman Park is responsible for the operation and maintenance of more than 1,300 kilometres of roads. This is a “significant expense” for the municipality, especially since collected road hauling fees do not adequately address the costs of maintaining those roads.
The RM also suggests that the fees need to be evaluated at a higher standard than the current practice of every two years.
Interestingly, a similar resolution was apparently put forward at the 2015 mid-term SARM convention calling on the province to restructure the road haul fees “to an amount that relates to the true cost of road maintenance,” but also allow for a percentage amount to be added to those fees so that a pool of funds could be developed for municipalities to pay for gravel delivery.
