Concern is beginning to be raised in some communities regarding the current Municipal Revenue Sharing agreement with the provincial government and how it will be affected by the economic impact of COVID-19.

Each year, municipalities receive a share of the provincially collected PST revenue, to the tune of roughly three-quarters of one percent.

For perspective, Swift Current's 2020 revenue sharing came to 3.34 million.

At issue is the fact that those numbers are staggered by two years, which means that in 2023, the share will be given to municipalities will be from 2020; a year that has obviously been affected by the economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic.

bear pit session, and while he wouldn't commit to such a measure, he sounded optimistic about the state of the economy in 2020.

"I've been surprised at how much spending has gone on. More people have stayed in the province and they've been spending their money here. Real Estate and so many other industries have done relatively well through this pandemic. So we know that PST is going to be down. That will have an impact in a couple of years. To what extent, we're not exactly sure."

He added that he wouldn't be able to guess what the budget will look like in three years time, and instead pivoted to addressing other initiatives like the recent Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP), and reminding the listeners that it was the Sask Party that placed the Municipal Revenue Sharing program on a fixed formula, giving municipalities predictability.

"I'm not saying what the decision will be in two year's time. But for many that are virtually joining in will know that at the time the predictability was so very important that as the economy rose, they would benefit, and if it slid, they would also take part in that responsibility."

Bridal is sanguine about the possibility, believing that in general the provincial government has treated the municipalities fairly, and adding that they will do what they will do, no matter what.

"With the revenue sharing. I can't change their mind. I can give them what I think they should do, but we will have to wait. And to be perfectly honest, the province has been treating municipalities I think very fairly with the sharing of finances."