Fair is fair, unless you’re talking about funding recreation services in the region.
There is obviously a great divide between the town and the county when it comes to the various facilities in town that most of us enjoy.
If we are to believe the numbers provided by the town council with respect to how much recreation services in town cost versus how many of the users are from the town or the county, it seems incredibly inequitable, to say the least.
Town Coun. Sheila Foley made a presentation on behalf of the town to the county, in which she requested the county increase its funding for town facilities that in many cases are used more by county residents than town residents.
Ultimately, what’s happening is that the town residents are subsidizing these services for the county residents who use them, and that’s just not fair.
Foley emphasized that regardless of the funding model, everyone would be welcome to use the facilities, and that’s a key point here. It would be a hugely divisive mistake to allow only a certain group of people to use these facilities that obviously have a huge benefit for everyone.
Nonetheless the seemingly unequal funding, when coupled with the county’s lack of capital funding for the new and much-needed Spirit Centre project, could conceivably force the town’s hand.
Everyone should be paying their fair share in our community, and considering the massive debt load the town’s ratepayers have taken on to fund the Spirit Centre project, bad feelings could ultimately be the result.
The county needs to take a serious look at what it can provide its residents, and what the residents must come into town for. As Foley rightly pointed out in her presentation, we have to rely on each other.
The solution to this dilemma is clear. First off, the county and its ratepayers must be willing to pay their fair share for the services they benefit from.
Second, the town and county could look at creating a regional recreational services board, funded on a per capita basis, that would be responsible for all facilities in the region — from the Spirit Centre to every rink in every hamlet.
Third, and most importantly, we should engage in an honest and open discussion about amalgamating our municipal governments for the greater good of our
