2019-20 Annual Report

Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) Annual Report for 2019 - 2020 saskatchewan.ca Table of Contents Letter of Transmittal ............................................................................................................. 3 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 4 Program Delivery ................................................................................................................... 5 • Overall Administration ........................................................................................................ 5 • Municipal Allocations .......................................................................................................... 5 • Municipal Gas Tax Fund Agreement ................................................................................... 6 • Infrastructure Investment Plans ......................................................................................... 7 • Municipal Compliance Strategy .......................................................................................... 9 Other Funds Available for Distribution .................................................................................. 10 Municipal Annual Expenditure Reports ................................................................................. 10 Outcome Reporting .............................................................................................................. 13 Oversight Committee ........................................................................................................... 14 Asset Management .............................................................................................................. 14 Communications .................................................................................................................. 16 Financial Report ................................................................................................................... 16 • Compliance .......................................................................................................................16 • Financial Report Highlights ............................................................................................... 16 Independent Auditor’s Report .............................................................................................. 17 Appendices .......................................................................................................................... 26 • Appendix A GTF Project List .............................................................................................. 26 2 Letter of Transmittal December 17, 2020 Ms. Alison O’Leary Assistant Deputy Minister Program Operations Branch Infrastructure Canada 1100 - 180 Kent Street OTTAWA ON K1P 0B6 Dear Ms. O’Leary: On behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Government Relations, I am pleased to provide the Annual Report for the Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax Fund for the period of April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. Sincerely, Sheldon Green Assistant Deputy Minister Municipal Relations 3 Overview The Gas Tax Fund Annual Report is prepared by the Ministry of Government Relations (the ministry) and submitted to Infrastructure Canada as part of the required reporting commitments under the Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax Fund1 (the Agreement). It reports on the program’s activities for the period of April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. It is distributed to the Gas Tax Fund Oversight Committee members and is available on our website at saskatchewan.ca. Saskatchewan municipalities have been benefitting from the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF). Under the original agreement (2005 to 2014), municipalities received federal funding for environmentally sustainable infrastructure investments. In 2014, Saskatchewan and Canada entered into the Agreement, renewing the GTF for a ten-year term from 2014-15 to 2023-24 as part of the New Building Canada Plan. The program supports three outcomes: • Investing in community infrastructure; Saskatchewan has received $418,387,522 • Providing municipalities with access to a predictable source of funding; and in federal gas tax funding since 2014-15. • Supporting and encouraging long-term municipal planning and asset management. The program is now permanent and is indexed at two per cent annually, applied in $100 million increments. Over the first five years of the Agreement, Saskatchewan’s allocation was $292.7 million, based on 2011 Statistics Canada Census figures. For 2019-20 to 2023-24, Saskatchewan’s allocation is $324.2 million based on 2016 Census data. The federal government also provided legacy funding of $1.2 million in 2016-17 and a temporary top-up in the form of a one-time transfer of $61.9 million to supplement the 2018-19 allocation. In 2019-20, Saskatchewan’s allocation increased by approximately one per cent from 2018-19 to $62.5 million. Municipalities select how best to direct the funds to meet local need. Under the Agreement, 1,306 projects have been approved, supporting the national objectives of increased productivity and economic growth, clean environment, and strong cities and communities. 1 The Agreement is available on the website at saskatchewan.ca. Canada also links to it on their website at https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gtf-fte-eng.html. 4 Figure 1: Approved Projects Meeting Primary National Objectives 700 Broadband Connectivity 600 Brownfield Redevelopment Capacity Building 500 Community Energy Systems Disaster Mitigation 400 Drinking Water 300 Local Roads and Bridges Public Transit 200 Regional and Local Airports 100 Solid Waste Sport, Culture, Tourism, Recreation 0 Wastewater Productivity and Clean Environment Strong Cities and Economic Growth (607) (556) Communities (143) Program Delivery Overall Administration The ministry administers the Gas Tax program in Saskatchewan on behalf of the federal government. Saskatchewan’s federally-approved business case is for Canada to fund 100 per cent of the costs to administer the program, up to 1.4 per cent of the estimated ten-year base transfer to a maximum of $8.5 million. Administration costs include activities such as the preparation and administration of municipal agreements, disbursement of funds, communications, reporting, and audit and evaluation requirements, as outlined in the Agreement. To date, administration costs total $3,278,650, which averages $546,442 per year. The federal government hosts GTF workshops to discuss administration of the GTF. In December 2019, ministry staff met in Ottawa with their counterparts from across Canada. Topics of discussion included asset management; performance measurements; outcomes reporting; eligibility; communications; and open data and reporting. Municipal Allocations All Saskatchewan municipalities are eligible to participate in the GTF. Under the Agreement, the entire allocation, excluding the $123.7 million transferred amount for administration costs, flows to municipalities on a per to municipalities in capita basis. The estimated allocations for municipalities, along 2019-20 with their legacy and top-up allocation amounts, are on the ministry’s website at saskatchewan.ca. These municipal allocations are distributed annually in two equal instalments based on the timing of receipt of the funds from Canada. In 2019-20, these payments were made in August and March. In addition, the 2018-19 top-up was paid to municipalities in July, bringing the total to $123.7 million in per capita funding transferred to municipalities in 2019-20. 5 Allocations for the first five years were based on 2011 Statistics Canada Census figures. Beginning in 2019-20, allocations are based on 2016 Census data. Municipalities can pool, bank and borrow against this funding, providing them with significant financial flexibility. In order to receive funding, a municipality must: • Enter into a Municipal Gas Tax Fund Agreement, including any amendments; • Submit an Infrastructure Investment Plan for each project; and • Adhere to Saskatchewan’s Municipal Compliance Strategy. Municipal Gas Tax Fund Agreement The Municipal Gas Tax Fund Agreement (MGTFA) sets out the roles and responsibilities of Saskatchewan and the municipality for the administration of the GTF under the Agreement. In 2014, individual MGTFAs were sent out to all municipalities. Seventeen municipalities chose not to participate, leaving 762 municipalities, the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and the Saskatchewan portion of Flin Flon participating in the program. At the end of the first five years, due to removals for non-compliance and municipal dissolutions, there were 740 MGTFAs remaining. In September 2016, the Oversight Committee approved allowing non-participating and removed municipalities the opportunity to enter the program during census years when allocations for the upcoming five years are being calculated. 2019-20 provided this opportunity for re-entry. In August 2019, an amendment to the Agreement was ratified with Canada. Unspent funds from the original agreement were only available to municipalities for eligible projects. The amendment enables the municipal associations to also access these funds for capacity building projects, including those related to asset management. In October 2019, an amendment to the MGTFA was sent to municipalities to reflect the changes made to the bilateral Agreement, and to establish

Load more