PCU Centre
The City and Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie have agreed to jointly fund and operate the new PCU Centre. The City has committed $16 million and the RM $8 million toward the construction of this facility.

Over the last few years the RM and City have worked closely on a variety of projects focused on taking a regional approach to economic development and the provision of municipal services.

The RM and City are working closely with the Provincial and Federal Governments to obtain commitments of $8.3 million from other levels of government. Provincial and Federal officials have indicated that the magnitude of their support for this project will be based at least in part on the fact that this is a regional project between the City and RM.

Tax Sharing Agreement
The RM and City of Portage la Prairie entered into the first comprehensive property tax sharing agreement in Manitoba in December, 2000. Describing this historic event, Reeve Jim Knight said “This Memorandum of Understanding certainly provides the foundation for economic expansion of our commercial and industrial base… We are confident that by working together our Central Region will provide a strong and vibrant economy for our citizens.” Mayor MacKenzie commented “ We hope that we have brought together various sectors to partner localities that can build lasting relationships that outlive political turmoil, leadership changes and economic hard times.”

Ron Bell, President of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in awarding the RM and City the first ever Municipal Innovation Award stated “this agreement changed the way these two municipalities do business and now stands as a model for others to follow. By joining forces, they strengthened the foundation for economic expansion in the area, resulting in a strong and vibrant economy for those in the Portage la Prairie region.”

Regional Districts
Over the last several years the City and RM of Portage la Prairie have successfully collaborated on a number of joint initiatives that have benefited the region. The creation of a joint Planning District, Regional Landfill District and Library District have increased the collaboration and provided a more cohesive approach to the delivery of these services to the region.

Fire and Rescue Services
In 2005 the City and RM of Portage la Prairie entered into a 10 year agreement for the provision of fire and rescue services based on a percentage of use basis. This innovative agreement allows both the City and RM to pay their proportionate share of Fire/Rescue costs based on usage.

J.R. Simplot Potato Processing Facility
The construction of the $120 million J.R. Simplot potato processing plant at the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park in the RM of Portage la Prairie in 2001 serves to highlight what can happen when the City and RM join together on a project. In addition to the plant construction costs, the City, RM, Province of Manitoba and J.R.Simplot funded $21 million in water and sewer construction and upgrades necessary to accommodate this plant. The City also accelerated an additional $17 million in Water Treatment Plant upgrades for this project.

After attending many meetings with RM and City officials throughout the planning and construction process for the J.R. Simplot plant, Rick Fisch, Senior Vice President, J.R. Simplot Company stated "The thing I think that impressed Simplot more than anything was the unified approach between the RM, the City and the Province in this common goal of bringing this project to fruition. We haven't seen that kind of support in too many areas."

Without this regional approach to economic development, Poplar Bluff Industrial Park would not have been built and it is unlikely that J.R.Simplot Company would have located in the Portage la Prairie region.

Regional Sewer and Water Services

In 1998 the City entered into an agreement to provide treated water to the RM. In addition the Peony Farm area, Highway #1 A west and Southport Aerospace Centre have all been hooked up to City sewer services.