CCPA - The High Cost of Free-Riding and How We Fix It

The interviews were conducted in be properly communicated to residents in or- order to generate ideas about the potential ben- der to highlight the problems associated with efits and consequences of the implementation the property tax differential and exurban com- of a commuter fee in Winnipeg and were there- muting, and why a fee is the appropriate tool for fore administered in a semi-structured. [...] The high CosT of free-riding and how we fix iT 5 These municipalities straddle the suburban-rural deficit, measured as the difference between the divide, and are hereafter referred to as ‘exurban,’ capital costs of the city’s infrastructure needs and meaning that they are located outside the legal the funding available to finance these projects, limits of the City of Winnipeg and that they are whi. [...] On one hand, this has the benefit of demon- “in this case, the existence of numerous govern- strating to residents the cost of the services they ments within a region (offering different service use; but on the other, this ‘sticker shock’ is why and revenue packages), the mobility of residents, the property tax garners so much contempt from and their knowledge of the contents of revenue homeowners. [...] Ultimately, in order to effectively tackle the effectively cuts to the heart of the problem: eco- various problems of exurban commuting, both nomic free-riding and the losses to the central types of commuter fees require that the proper city’s tax base. [...] Ultimately, the problems facing the infrastructure deficit and improve service Winnipeg and the broader region go far beyond provision across the city, while also mitigating the realm of zoning and property taxes — and the effects of the property tax differential in the therefore require solutions not constrained by Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area.