Editorial – Who needs who; the $5,444 question

For the past three years, the St. Lawrence Parks Commission has been in talks with the province and local municipalities South Dundas and South Stormont. The SLPC needs to replace aging water/wastewater infrastructure at its facilities in the two townships and the agency’s easiest path is to tie unto existing municipal infrastructure. In South Dundas, this would entail connecting Upper Canada Village, Crysler Park, and Riverside-Cedars Campground to Morrisburg. SLPC’s properties on the Long Sault Parkway need to connect to South Stormont’s services.

These are large infrastructure projects, one which South Dundas is in a better shape to handle than South Stormont. Reports to South Dundas council this spring showed that water/wastewater infrastructure here has more than enough capacity in existing services, and the draw of SLPCs needs will not impact other planned/potential development in the municipality. Negotiations between Infrastructure Ontario, which handles procurement, are confidential. Other than platitudes, no party will speak about any potential deal until all the ink is dry and the deal is signed. However there are concerns — 5,444 of them to be exact.

Since the days of the St. Lawrence Seaway project in the 1950s, the province has not paid an equitable share of property tax, in comparison to the amount of land it owns and controls. Governments cannot tax each other or themselves. Instead, a payment in lieu of tax is paid to municipalities. In theory, that payment is to be equal to the property taxes that would be paid. The number paid by the SLPC however is peanuts – only $5,444 per year compared to the tax burden that residential, commercial and industrial taxpayers have to pay. That amount does not – and has not – increased. The province sets the “value” of what its property is worth. When the ones who make the rules also make their own set of rules to follow, how is that fair? It is not.

South Dundas officials have said that they are not seeking concessions from the province in their negotiations – just money. That is the wrong tactic to take. As stated, the province controls vast tracts of land in South Dundas that is unused, and that the province has no public plans to do anything with. Some of that land could be leveraged better by the municipality to address local housing issues. Or it could be sold and returned to private ownership, righting a historical wrong done to this region decades ago. Additionally, the province could redress what it considers a fair value for payment in lieu of taxes. If UCV or any of the campgrounds were privately-owned, the municipal tax value would be much higher. One or both of those should be conditions of any agreement to connect SLPC facilities to South Dundas infrastructure.

It is clear that even if the province has to make concessions, connecting their facilities to South Dundas’ is still their lowest cost option. For once, the province needs South Dundas more than South Dundas needs it. Civic leaders should use that to their advantage.

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