As Moose Jaw city council worked toward passing the 2019 budget during their most recent meeting, there were plenty of revotes called for by Coun. Brian Swanson, each touching on an issue that has been contentious over the last few months of council meetings.
An area that received plenty of conversation was council remuneration and the elimination of the one-third tax exemption previously given to elected officials through the federal Income Tax Act.
Swanson took exception to the cost to the city’s tax base and the appearance that the mayor and councillors didn’t feel they were getting paid enough. Coun. Dawn Luhning agreed to that end, saying she felt uncomfortable voting for what could be seen as a raise for herself and her fellow councillors.
The issue came into being when a one-third tax exemption previously applied to elected officials in Canada was eliminated by the federal government. Municipalities all over the country have dealt with the issue since.
The motion called for the mayor’s salary to be set at $79,801 and councillor salaries at $24,918.
In defending the change, Mayor Fraser Tolmie pointed out that a one-third reduction would mean a major impact in monthly compensation, and that with the city looking to encourage civic service and individuals running for council, such a reduction sends the wrong message.
Coun. Heather Eby pointed to the time taken away from work at her business as another reason the 1/3rd should be accounted for: time working on council issues and meetings means lost wages in her case and would be a concern for any self-employed individual.
In earlier budget meetings, Coun. Chris Warren moved to have the remuneration replacement funded by a reduction to the travel and convention budget; that motion was rescinded Feb. 19 and not included in the revote.
Coun. Swanson suggested following an earlier consultation report that tied remuneration to compensation for members of the provincial legislature – when they receive a raise, council and mayor receives a raise.
The motion passed a second time 4-3, with Couns. Swanson, Warren and Luhning opposed.
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A presentation by Moose Jaw citizen Michel Labonte with regards to the planned Healthy Living program offering city workers free access to city-owned athletic and recreation facilities was met with further discussion as part of a re-vote, with Swanson calling the idea that there would be no cost to the city for such a program ‘baloney’.
Swanson echoed Labonte’s comments, saying that the use of water for showers and flushing combined with other incidental costs would all add up over the long run and make such a plan more expensive than realized.
Luhning expressed concern for private sector facilities that would take a hit when city workers who had previously been using their gyms decided to instead go with the free option.
Warren took the opposite approach, pointing out that such a program is not unusual for other communities and would provide benefits while promoting active living. Eby felt much the same way adding that city employees often feel theirs is a thankless job and offering such a program is a way to show staff appreciation.
City manager Jim Puffalt weighed in that the impact of the Healthy Living program would have the added benefit of fewer sick days for employees and make a difference when it comes to productivity.
The motion passed 5-2, with Swanson and Luhning opposed.
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The original vote to pass the capital budget also drew Swanson’s attention as he felt the massive future-looking budget component carried the wrong focus in too many areas.
One major source of concern was the underfunding of the cast-iron water main replacement program, for which he has long said the numbers don’t bear out as a 20-year plan given the replacement distance covered year-to-year.
Several councillors were joined by Mayor Tolmie in pointing out that the capital budget deals with the long term from the perspective of the 2019 budget and that changes could be made down the road in future years, enabling work to be accomplished methodically and strategically. As a result, changes could be made with regards to major issues such as the water main replacement in future budgets.
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Outside of final budget discussions, city council also approved a major change-order to the Buffalo Pound Water Supply Transmission Line Phase 1 replacement project to deal with costs for completing a 127-metre trenchless bore auger crossing of the Spectra Energy and Trans Canada Pipelines.
The work was completed on July 18, 2018, but saw a host of difficulties, with contractor Hamm Construction Ltd. pointing to challenging geological conditions – including cobbles, boulders and stiff soil/mudstone – as a major cause for an increase in construction time from three weeks to 11 weeks total.
Council approved the additional costs at a total of $380,000, bringing the current total of change orders to $889,045.01, or 4.94 per cent of the total contract value.
The new costs fell under the current construction contingency and contract variation, meaning no new funds were required.
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Council approved the purchase of three new garbage trucks at a total cost of $1,179,331.62
A request for proposals saw Superior’s submissions chosen at a cost of $329,074 per Labrie/Peterbilt cab-over truck.
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Two notices of motion for the next meeting of city council were brought forward.
Coun. Swanson moved that organizations that have received municipal project tax status by way of council resolution have that designation removed if in the most recent calendar year the organization has received less than $1,000 in donations via the municipal tax status.
Coun. Luhning moved that a report be prepared to reevaluate the issuance of business licenses for areas of the city where mixed use in a commercial district and others could be an issue for neighbouring properties.
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Coun. Eby was named deputy mayor for the upcoming two-term span, while Warren was named the executive committee chair and Luhning chair of the personnel committee.
