Creating an task force to review the way Manitoba currently funds education, and getting Manitoba Hydro to call municipalities before they dig were the two resolutions spearheaded by the RM of Morris at this week's annual Convention of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) in Winnipeg.

The AMM annual general meeting is the largest municipal event in the year and draws about 900 delegates.

"The resolution on education was an attempt to address concerns connected to the dramatic increase in land assessment," said reeve Ralph Groening. "The dramatic increase in land assessment transferred the burden of funding education over to agricultural land, land that doesn't have any children going to school and we are simply asking for more equitability. That was the intend of our resolution."

Groening argues that the current education funding model in Manitoba has been in existence for many years and its time to re-examine how education is funded.

"Even though the resolution was not passed by delegates, there seemed to be some interest in pursuing the idea of allowing school divisions to do their own invoicing," noted Groening.

Groening explained that the resolution is to answer questions posed by tax payers in the Municipality.

Meanwhile, the RM of Morris also submitted a resolution that would require Manitoba Hydro and MTS to call municipal offices before they start digging.

For years, Hydro has urged Manitobans to "call before they dig" to avoid accidentally puncturing an underground hydro line or gas line. Groening says their resolution is asking Hydro and MTS to return the favour when they plan projects that require digging.

"It's Ironic that Mb Hydro emphasizes that we should call them before we dig, but they don't have the same requirement. We had an embarrassing situation last summer when Manitoba Hydro put in some hydro lines without contacting us and punctured an eight inch water line causing serious havoc," said Groening.

The resolution received widespread support from AMM delegates. AMM will now submit the request the province for its approval.