Yesterday's Public Hearing held by the RM of Lakeshore about their need to borrow almost $2.5 million wasn't a very happy meeting. Rightfully so, the municipality's ratepayers seemed to be baffled by the council's need to borrow that much money.
To make the situation worse, the council seemed very ill-prepared for the meeting. Between tech issues and dodged questions, by the end of the meeting, it didn't seem like a lot of questions were answered to the level that ratepayers wanted.
The RM of Lakeshore's need to borrow that much money is the result of a mandate from the Province of Manitoba's Office of Northern and Municipal Relations, who had a representative in attendance to speak on why that mandate exists. In 2023, the RM of Lakeshore reported a sizeable deficit. The RM says that deficit is from years past, but the Municipal Relations Representative said he could not find any deficit from 2020, 2021, or 2022.
In 2024 alone, the RM of Lakeshore's deficit for the year was $672,144. The total deficit amount from 2024, 2023, and years prior, according to the RM of Lakeshore Council, is $2,497,543.
Despite there being a public hearing, the public was left with more questions than answers in regards to what caused the deficit. One council member said it's the result of a systematic failure stretching back 12 years. Another council member said there have been several RM CAOs come and go over the years. Another said they've had a financial audit done, and that's currently in the hands of the RCMP and the RM's insurance companies.
Why should the average RM of Lakeshore resident be concerned? The Province and Municipality will pass that money along to the ratepayer. One council member said they plan a 3% increase to the General Municipal Levy to make up for that, though they're also looking at other ways to pay that deficit, like selling off old equipment.
The Council does not have to listen to the public's comments or recommendations, and is able to pass the proposed by-law if they decide. All that's certain is not a lot of questions were answered at yesterday's Public Hearing.
