MOOSE JAW — Downtown development, tourism, property assessments, taxes, economic development, seniors and city staff morale were some topics mayoral candidates discussed during the chamber of commerce’s Oct. 29 forum at the Events Centre.
Candidates who attended include Clive Tolley (incumbent), Coun. Crystal Froese, James Murdock, Mike Simpkins and Coun. Kim Robinson.
Property assessments
City council has met several times with the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) and attempted to keep it accountable with its property assessments, but that’s difficult since the agency is provincially regulated and it denied council’s request for a secondary audit, said Froese.
“I am absolutely open to alternatives and working with the province to address these issues,” she added.
Murdock thought the city should hire independent property assessors since they apparently work well elsewhere. Hiring independent agencies meant council wouldn’t need to “reinvent the wheel.”
Simpkins thought council should “reinvent the wheel” and “look outside the box” for solutions since residents in Regina and Saskatoon regularly complained about their independent assessors. One idea he had was to tax properties by their size and not the building on it.
Robinson said the assessment system was broken and required an in-depth audit that provided tax fairness for all and “even(ed) the playing field.” If elected mayor, reviewing “the SAMA situation” would be one of his first priorities.
Moose Jaw had its own assessment group, but council eliminated it to save money, said Tolley. Meanwhile, SAMA frustrated him since it didn’t listen to anyone’s concerns and regularly mis-assessed property values, making developing lots too expensive.
The incumbent mayor added that council should go in a different direction once SAMA’s contract finished in 2025.
Property taxes
Murdock said council needs to identify “smart solutions” to address property taxes while pursuing cost-effective infrastructure projects with limited revenue.
To do this, he thought the city needed to co-ordinate projects better in-house, avoid redundancies with street repairs, use the reserves more effectively, and use low-interest debt to pay for projects. This should keep property taxes manageable.
Simpkins said the city should consider developing and selling larger lots, which would attract families, give kids more space to play and develop a family atmosphere in neighbourhoods. He also thought the city should fire SAMA.
Robinson said Moose Jaw needs a consistent, common-sense approach with its property cap rates since residents deserve better with how much tax money supports SAMA.
Meanwhile, with revenue options beyond typical taxation, he thought city hall needed to be creative and entrepreneurial, such as better using its grant writer, acquiring low-interest loans or using investments. No idea should be off the table, he said, while outside help could enlarge the tax base.
Tolley said that another contractor provides Board of Revision services, which a group of residents used to provide. Council is also unhappy with this provider and should find someone else while reviewing all areas of concern with assessments.
To grow and stabilize Moose Jaw’s economic base and reduce property taxes, council should attract value-added agricultural-focused companies and better manage its reserves, said Froese, who noted that the expansion at 15 Wing Air Base could also significantly affect the community.
“We need to live within our means and we need to look at a better way to do our assessments … ,” she added. “I would like to see us bring the assessment back into city hall.”
Economic development
The mayor can promote economic development by cleaning up the city and making it safer for everyone, and once that is accomplished, can market the community to attract outside businesses and investments, said Simpkins.
Robinson agreed that the mayor should promote the city and help acquire developments instead of chasing away projects. Once that occurs, the mayor should convince councillors to support the project.
Tolley described himself as “Mr. Moose Jaw” since he regularly invites people and businesses to move here. He thought the community was “very, very open” for business and argued that the mayor and council hadn’t chased away developers.
Froese argued that council had chased away opportunities since she knew of businesses that had gone elsewhere. Meanwhile, she thought the city could partner with rural municipalities to bring value-added agricultural companies to the area, with those workers living in Moose Jaw.
“We have to have a strategy. … you can’t just sit behind a desk and hope that they come to you. That’s not how economic development works,” she added.
Important people in city hall need to be “leading the charge” with attracting economic investment, including encouraging companies to move here, especially since Moose Jaw has a good story to share and sits in the middle of major economic corridors, said Murdock.
Meanwhile, since Moose Jaw has plenty of underused land — especially in the agri-food industrial park — it should bring in more agricultural businesses, set up an ag cluster, and work with Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s new agriculture program, he added.
Downtown development and tourism
Moose Jaw has the spa and casino as tourist attractions, while artists have spent several years beautifying infrastructure items like garbage cans and benches, said Tolley. Moreover, the downtown is full of heritage, while more people need to be frequenting the area to reduce safety concerns.
Froese agreed that the downtown is the backbone of the community’s history and is why tourists come here. She thought that redeveloping River Street could enhance the area.
Murdock said Main Street is the most important thoroughfare in Moose Jaw and should be supported. He thought investors were required to bring developments to the area, the mayor should talk to business owners since they wanted to be heard, and a greater police presence would enhance safety.
Simpkins thought the city needed to clean up its tax structure and how it taxes businesses, while it needed to stop driving away developments. Meanwhile, he thought the city needed to have more low-cost activities downtown to attract more people there.
Robinson said he was in favour of any type of development downtown.
The municipal election is on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
