OUR LOCAL ECONOMY

Morden's Economic Future

With the recent purchase of 142.5 acres south of the current industrial park, Morden is on the right path to expanding its availability to new businesses. Finding a sustainable long-term solution to our wastewater treatment capacity is the next big step before we can open the gates and let new industry settle in Morden. 

With the goal of having the industrial tax base climbing to its optimal range of 40%, this will also lower the residential tax base. In a perfect scenario, the industrial vs. residential ratio is 40:60. We are not there yet, but with the expansion of our industrial park, this is a reachable goal. In other words: If more industry moves in and carries the tax burden, residential taxes can relax.

But economic development not only reacts to direct investments by building new industry - it also responds to indirect capital investments that strengthen the community. Morden is due for a larger capital investment that can act as an economic engine.

TANGIBLE CAPITAL ASSETS (TCA):

Using Asset Management for risk management is the way most provinces want their communities to manage their money. Manitoba municipalities are lagging behind on this, but Morden is one of the more successful towns in actually implementing this model. The TCA-model looks at every single asset in Morden and assesses the asset by respecting type, age, initial cost, replacement cost, improvements and current conditions. This gives us a detailed report of the condition of every street, sidewalk, water main line, sewer line, etc. Our assets are then calculated on this report. This form of "lifecycle management" enables us to look at future demand (increase in populations, demographic changes, etc.) and current conditions, to really know what our assets are - at every single square foot out our town. This is a great way of managing anticipated costs of new capital projects.