The board chair of the TNRD is echoing pain expressed by municipalities about downloaded costs from the province.

Ken Gillis says the province is double dipping by collecting the new Employer Health Tax and still collecting half of MSP premiums in 2019.

“It seems odd to me that they would make us pay both the Employer Health Tax and, of course, for our employees we pay the medical services premiums,” Gillis says.

His concern echoes what has been said by many municipalities.

“Leaving the Medical Service Premiums in place for an extra while they collect the health services taxes, I guess that’s going to give them a pretty substantial shot in the arm for 2019.”

In its budget for next year, the regional district expects to pay the province $190,000 for the Employer Health Tax and another $90,000 for MSP premiums.

The new Employer Health Tax is the equivalent of a 1.95 per cent increase to its payroll costs, which it calls an “extraordinary increase” in its draft budget report.