STOP HIGHER TAXES STOP BYLAW 21-25
URGENT: Major Property Tax Increases Coming to Springfield
The Springfield Taxpayers Rights Corp is committed to keeping property and homeowners informed about the looming significant municipal property tax increases.
These tax hikes stem directly from ongoing mismanagement, poor planning, and what many believe is an abuse of public trust by Mayor Patrick Therrien and Councillors Melinda Warren (Ward 4) and Glen Fuhl (Ward 1).
What’s Coming?
Your 2025 Property Tax Bill will arrive by mid-August — as previously reported throughout 2024 we believe Springfield residents will face a 17% to 21% tax increase. Worse still, this could become the norm for the next five years, not the exception.
Note: up to 70% of Springfield residents primarily live on rural residential acreages and want to maintain our rural municipality status with a low tax base with limited services and not become a suburb of Winnipeg!
Springfield residents have already paid many thousands of dollars for their own wells/septic fields or piped water connections, some costing as high as $50K. Why should we be forced by Therrien, Fuhl and Warren to pay a second time for Small Lot High Density Developments’ Infrastructure that directly enhances developers’ profits.
Misguided Growth in Oakbank & Dugald
Mayor Therrien is aggressively pushing a 20-year accelerated growth plan along the Oakbank and Dugald Corridors, targeting 200 new homes per year.
Let’s break that down Annually:
- ~720 new residents adding 400 more vehicles to our roads every year
- ~320 new students added to our already overcrowded schools
- Zero Planning - for significant increased commuter traffic on Hwy 15 & Garven Road, ongoing education standards, public safety, fire & police protection
- Therrien’s comment: “We’ll worry about the rest later.”
The Real Costs
- New water treatment plant: $30+ million less grants plus inflation
- Significant rate increases for residents on piped water
- New wastewater treatment plant: $50+ million (plus up to 30% over budget) no grants plus inflation
- Capital Cost Debt repayments and stripping out our reserve funds are not calculated in future tax years
- Long-term service/maintenance deficits: For every $1 collected from small-lot developments, our Rural municipality spends $1.28 to service these properties (Source: Canadian Association of Rural Municipalities)
This is a recipe for ongoing deficits and unsustainable tax increases.
Impact on Property Values
Skyrocketing taxes and Forced Urbanization threaten to erode rural property values — especially for residents on acreages and farms.
STOP BYLAW 21-25
Mayor Therrien, CAO Draper, and Councillors Warren and Fuhl are pushing through Bylaw 21-25, a sweeping land use bylaw designed to:
- Further weaken public oversight
- Bypass meaningful public hearings
- Shift power away from residents and council to the mayor and unelected “designated officers”!
They plan to pass it quietly at the August 19th, 6pm council meeting, while many residents are on summer holidays. This tactic has been used before — forcing in major decisions with minimal public visibility.
What Can We Do?
We can challenge Bylaw 21-25 through the Municipal Board of Manitoba, which helped craft our 2018 Master Land Use Plan — a plan that Therrien, Warren, and Fuhl have ignored or undermined at every turn.
Our petition signed by Springfield taxpayers as objectors to Bylaw 21-25, we can trigger a Municipal Board hearing and demand transparency, accountability, and a proper review.
Thank You to Our Champions
A sincere thank you to Councillors Andy Kuczynski and Mark Miller for their consistent opposition to Therrien’s irresponsible plans. They stand with residents who want to preserve Springfield’s rural values and fiscal responsibility.
Springfield belongs to all its residents, not developers, Therrien, Warren or Fuhl. Let’s act now before irreversible damage is done.
Allan Akins, STRC President allanakinsis@gmail.com phone 204 791 6270
Petition is available at: SpringfieldTaxpayersRights.com