Portage la Prairie city councillors are discussing their options, when it comes to the provincial Dutch elm disease management program. The agreement has been a contentious issue for many municipal governments in the province, as the government reduced the funding for tree removal to just $181.32 per tree, with a $2,000 lump sum for administration. Mayor Irvine Ferris says moving forward with the agreement in its current proposal would see much of the cost of the program falling on tax payers.

"My feeling is I'm not happy with it. I think it's inadequate. I have a number of concerns and so do other communities. When I talk to reeves and mayors from other community, I hear the same type of concerns. I'm going to ask for some cost estimates, but we know if we were to do the same Dutch elm treatment that we did in previous years with this new formula, we're looking at a major tax increase to be able to do that."

The discussion in council chambers last night also focused on a recent decision my Neepawa's council to vote against the agreement to protest the downloading of services. Ferris notes while the current agreement would lead to tax increases, they're also concerned about the impact of not moving forward with the management of the disease.

"At the same time, it would be somewhat irresponsible not to do it. It's a bit of a dilemma. I know the council in Neepawa, which was discussed in committee had turned this down. They said no to this offer. That's interesting. I think we need to go back to the table with the province and take another look at this issue."

While the downloading of services is one issue being discussed, the recent protest vote in Neepawa also led to additional concerns regarding the effectiveness of the program. Neepawa's council had questioned the impact of the management program, as not all Manitoban municipalities are involved. Council will hold a vote on Jan 25th.