For Immediate Release
SARM Responds to Revenue Sharing Announcement
On February 6, 2006, the Premier announced that the Revenue Sharing Pool for 2005-06 would be topped up with an additional $10 million and that the 2006-07 Pool would also see a $10 million increase. The Province has confirmed that the additional funding to the Pool will be distributed to the Rural and Urban Revenue Sharing Pools in proportion to the present pool standings.
“This means that the Rural Pool will see an increase of about $4 million for both last year and the current year,” said Neal Hardy, President of SARM. “The additional funds will increase the Rural Pool from just over $34 million to about $38 million per year.”
“While this increase is only about one-fifth of what we had asked for, we are pleased that the Province has recognized the need to put additional funds into Revenue Sharing,” said Hardy.
SARM and SUMA have teamed up in the Clearing the Path Program (CTP) to foster the opportunity for economic development of Saskatchewan’s rural communities. One objective of CTP is to provide a primary weight road corridor to the many rural communities that are presently served by only a secondary weight highway, and the additional funds will help in achieving this goal.
“While more dollars are needed to make our objective a reality, this is certainly a step in the right direction,” concluded President Hardy.
For more information contact:
Neal Hardy Ken Engel
President Executive Director
(306) 865-6368 (306) 757-3578
