Witless Bay mayor wants no-tax towns to pay up

The Mayor of Witless Baywants the provincial government to do something about towns that don't collect property taxes.

Mayor SbastianDesprs saidit's unfair that some communities charge taxes while local service districts don't.

Residents of Witless Bay pay property tax, while innearby Mobile, residents pay a fee to neighbouring municipalities for services like garbage collectionin lieu of property taxes,

Desprssaid it's an issue that comes up regularly at his council meetings.

"Local service districts in the province can beperceivedto have a free ride in terms of these services," he told CBC.

Desprs said he doesn't blame the districts, but would like the provincial government to take action and make changes to have taxes more fairly spread across the board.

He said his town has even held back from contributing money for a regional swimming pool because of concerns that some users won't be sharing the cost.

"That kind of humongous infrastructure project is impossible unless everybody, all the people who benefit from this kind of project, is expected to pay," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs Steve Kent agrees with Desprsthat something has to change.

"We have a complex structure of local government in this province, and it's one I feel isn't sustainable, and it's one that will be looked at during this fiscal framework review, said Kent.