The Capacity Edition
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1 PARCS UPDATE #35 THE CAPACITY JUNE, 2013 EDITION 1. PROVINCE CLAMPING DOWN ON NEW COTTAGE COMMUNITIES The province is about to introduce changes to The Municipalities Act which will severely reduce, if not eliminate, the establishment of new Organized Hamlets or new Resort Villages in the Saskatchewan. The rationale for raising the bar for the establishment of new cottage In this issue communities is the assertion that many of our current communities do not have the CAPACITY to operate 1. Province clamping down . p. 1 effectively. 2. PARCS meets Ministry . p. 1 CAPACITY is the buzz word of the day. It refers to 3. What’s being proposed . p. 2 the ability of a community “to meet the 4. What’s your capacity? . p. 3 accountability, fiduciary and legislative requirements 5. More about PARCS lobby . P. 4 to operate independently and to generate sufficient More about PARCS survey . p. 4 revenue for services and administration”. 1 On page 3 of this issue, PARCS presents a summary of some of 6. Addendum - Villages the criteria the province uses to determine capacity. & resort villages today . p. 5, 6 2. PARCS DIRECTORS MEETS WITH MINISTRY OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS On May 28, a delegation from the PARCS Board of Directors met with officials from the Ministry of Government Relations to provide input into the proposed changes to the rules for forming new resort villages and new organized hamlets. 2 PARCS delegates acknowledged that many of our smaller resort villages are struggling due to lack of capacity to meet their obligations (see page 3). However, PARCS directors pointed out that some of our new cottage communities are growing rapidly, arguing that there will still be some organized hamlets coming forward in the future with the sufficient capacity to self govern as resort villages. Officials from the Ministry of The main concern that PARCS directors expressed Government Affairs in consultation about the proposed establishment criteria is the with PARCS delegation (left to right) proposed requirement for 250 permanent residents. • John Edwards, Executive Director, Our delegation pointed out that that the requirement Policy Development Branch for 250 permanent residents in cottage communities • Randy McAffie, Director and was not only virtually unattainable, it was unnecessary • Sheldon Green, Executive Director, Strategy and Sector Relations because it was more than offset by the high Branch assessment per capita in cottage communities. Assessment generates revenue which in turn enhances capacity. 1 From page 3 of the Ministry of Government Relations’ 17-page Drafting Instructions for Proposed Changes to the Municipalities Act, 2013 – released in the spring of 2013. 2 President Shirley Gange, Director Garry Dixon and Coordinator Lynne Saas met with officials from Municipal Affairs. 2 2. WHAT THE PROVINCE IS PROPOSING AND Criteria for forming a Resort Village WHAT PARCS SUGGESTED Now • 50 or more separate dwellings and 3.1 Establishing new resort villages • Population of 100 or more Under the current rules, for an Organized Hamlet to permanent residents and • A prescribed minimum taxable become a resort village, the community must first been assessment an organized hamlet of at least three years. Also, if that Proposed for the Future organized hamlet is adjacent to a village or resort • 100 separate dwellings or village, it must first have applied to be annexed by that businesses AND 3 village and have been denied. • A population of 250 permanent residents AND The province has proposed two possible sets of • A minimum taxable income of five additional rules for an OH wishing to become a resort million 4 village. PARCS chose to respond to the less stringent of PARCS counter-proposal the two options. • 100 separate dwellings or businesses AND The province is proposing to raise the bar for an OH • A population of 75 permanent wishing to become a resort village such that only residents OR cottage communities with 250 permanent • A minimum taxable income of five residents would be able to apply for resort village million PLUS status. PARCS directors pointed out that only 3 of our • A written plan showing the current resort villages meet this population requirement financial resources and plans (compared to 52 regular villages in out province). Note for the necessary capacity. the charts on pages 4-5. Yet 15 of our current resort villages meet the requirement for a taxable assessment of 15 million (compared to only 4 regular villages in Criteria for forming an Organized Saskatchewan). Hamlet PARCS argued that these the province give equal weight Now to assessment as to permanent population in judging the • 5 or more occupied dwellings and capacity of an applicant for resort village status. • 10 or more lots and • Petition from at least 30 resident of Note PARCS proposals in red the community 3.2 Establishing new organized hamlets Proposed for the Future • 50 separate dwellings or businesses Over the past ten years, there have been about AND A population of 75 permanent 100 applications for OH status. Only 13 have been • residents AND established in that period, and only 1 since 2007. • A minimum taxable income of five million These petitions were denied because these communities failed to “demonstrate capacity for PARCS counter-proposal 5 50 separate dwellings or businesses future governance and accountability”. The chart • AND to the rights lists the proposed new criteria for the • A population of 75 permanent establishment of Organized Hamlets in the future. residents OR • A minimum taxable income of five None of these rules apply to existing Organized Hamlets million. or Resort Villages whose establishment is “grandfathered”. 3 Unless there are natural physical barriers or access limitations between the adjacent communities. 4 The other choice that the Ministry proposed actually suggested 150 separate dwellings or businesses and a population of 300 permanent residents with the same minimum taxable income. 5 Actually the province has set out TWO POSSIBLE SETS OF CRITERIA. We have quoted the less stringent one. 3 4. DOES YOUR COMMUNITY HAVE THE NECESSARY CAPACITY? The Ministry of Government Relations has a self-assessment questionnaire that that can be used by Resort Villages and Rural Municipalities to determine their own capacity. 6 The following survey is a simplified version. What is the Capacity Score for your Council? Our Council: 1. Maintains a useful website. ______________________________ Yes (__) No (__) 2. Has an up-to-date Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw. __ Yes (__) No (__) 3. Has an up-to-date policy for conducting council meetings. _____ Yes (__) No (__) 4. Employs a qualified administrator. ________________________ Yes (__) No (__) 5. Makes all of its decisions at the Council table. _______________ Yes (__) No (__) 6. Has an up-to-date Human Resources Policy. ________________ Yes (__) No (__) 7. Consistently meets the reporting requirements of the province, school division and federal Government . _____ Yes (__) No (__) 8. Documents all routine financial processes. __________________ Yes (__) No (__) 9. Has automated all of its financial processes. _________________ Yes (__) No (__) 10. Has monthly financial updates. ___________________________ Yes (__) No (__) 11. Has an up-to-date building bylaw. _________________________ Yes (__) No (__) 12. Regularly utilizes the services of a building inspector. __________ Yes (__) No (__) 13. Has a set of procedures for dealing with citizen complaints. _____ Yes (__) No (__) 14. Has an up-to-date Emergency Preparedness Plan. ____________ Yes (__) No (__) 15. Regularly conducts emergency response exercises. ___________ Yes (__) No (__) 16. Has made arrangements for fire services. ___________________ Yes (__) No (__) 17. Has lifecycle plans in place for core infrastructure. ____________ Yes (__) No (__) 18. Makes provisions for sewage disposal that meet current codes.___ Yes (__) No (__) 19. Has plans for supporting volunteer groups. __________________ Yes (__) No (__) 20. Works in partnership with neighbouring municipalities._________ Yes (__) No (__) Did you know that? Did you know that • 55% of Villages and Resort Villages have not adopted an more than $3 million Official Community Plan? in Gas Tax revenue is not collected by • 57% of Rural Municipalities have not adopted a Building Bylaw? Saskatchewan • 49% of Resort Villages do not consistently submit their monthly Councils because Education Property Tax returns to Education. their staff did take the ½ hour required • Proposed changes to the Municipalities Act would allow for to complete the dissolution of municipalities that are non-compliant. required application form? 6 Visit their web site at: http://municipal.gov.sk.ca/Administration/MGSST WOW 4 5. LEARN MORE ABOUT PARCS 2013 GOVERNMENT LOBBY As part of their visit with the Ministry of Government Relations, PARCS Directors addressed the other issues on behalf of cottage communities. PARCS directors presented their 2013 position statements about: Democratic principles for hamlet cottage communities including: • Improved financial reporting systems for Rural Municipalities with Organized Hamlets. • Periodic review of division boundaries in rural municipalities. • Provision for special bylaws in organized hamlet cottage communities specific to the unique needs cottage communities (similar to the condo bylaws in cities). • An update of the Ministry’s Guide to Organized Hamlets. Financial challenges for cottage communities • Grants for tourism related infrastructure. • Moving more of the costs of education away from the property tax base. • Including PARCS in future consultation regarding the funding for education. To learn more about PARCS lobby efforts on your behalf, register for the summer workshop in your neighbourhood. 6. LEARN MORE ABOUT COTTAGE COMMUNITIES AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL Many rural municipalities and resort villages have already participated in the PARCS survey about sewage disposal in cottage communities. The survey is intended for sharing with the Water Capacity Unit. If you haven’t been called yet, expect a phone call soon.