The mayor of Bridgewater has joined a chorus of mayors across the country applauding the latest federal budget.
The 2019-2020 budget includes a one time $2.2 billion transfer from the federal gas tax fund to cities, towns and municipalities.
David Mitchell says for older towns like Bridgewater, the funds mean a lot.
“It means that we could put more shovels in the ground and tackle more of our infrastructure in particular that’s so desperately in need of replacement.”
Mitchell says they are still replacing sewers lines from one hundred years ago, a problem not uncommon in older communities.
The $2.2 billion nearly doubles what will be available for municipal infrastructure projects this year.
Although that spells good news for the town, Mitchell says money from that fund does need to be distributed better.
He says although every community gets a portion of the gas tax but not everyone has infrastructure projects.
“There were many times where millions of dollars were given to various communities and then just put in a bank account to save for hopefully one day when they were going to have an elegible project.”
Mitchell says that makes it harder for older communities to access funds.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
