From new pickleball courts to a climate action plan to an updated Official Community Plan, city council approved many projects during its 2022 budget discussions.
The following is a brief look at some projects for next year. The full reports can be found at moosejaw.ca, including operating, capital and equipment reserve budgets. This document also provides a quick summary of what was approved for 2022.
Pickleball courts
Parks and rec will spend $285,000 to build six outdoor pickleball courts at the Kinsmen Sportsplex. Furthermore, city administration will negotiate an exclusive-use agreement with Pickleball Moose Jaw and forward a draft to council for consideration before proceeding with construction.
Council unanimously approved this project.
Garbage pickup
Garbage collection in October will move to weekly pickup from biweekly for an extra municipal expense of $22,013 per year.
Council voted 6-1 for this project. Coun. Kim Robinson was opposed.
Climate action plan
Council voted 5-2 to approve a climate action plan and sign a four-year agreement with Greenwave Innovations Inc. for $1,380,000 for an energy sub-monitoring solutions and consulting services program.
A net of $167,000 will also be allocated for consulting services at 10 municipal buildings to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Councillors Dawn Luhning and Kim Robinson were opposed.
Enhanced enforcement
City hall will create a new legislative and enforcement services department that will centralize core business services such as council/legislative agendas/business, bylaw enforcement, litigation, legislative compliance, document management and contracts/agreements.
Four new positions will be created, including manager of enforcement, two bylaw enforcement officers and an administrative clerk. Along with benefits, fuel and bylaw expenses, these positions will cost $430,400 annually, which city administration expects to pay for by the annual recovery of $400,000 from parking tickets and untidy properties.
Council voted 5-1 to approve this motion.
Robinson was opposed. Mayor Clive Tolley was absent from the vote.
Safety officer position
A second safety officer position that council approved in 2021 for a one-year term will be continued and staffed as a permanent full-time resource. Total wages in 2022 will be $92,406.26 and funded from the operating budget through cost savings.
This position allegedly helped save $106,098 this year in costs associated with the Workers’ Compensation Board, time lost, reduced repair costs, administration, and reduced incidents, a council report said.
Council unanimously approved this motion.
Economic development position
Council approved a new economic development co-ordinator position for $85,000 to support the activities of the business improvement district and work of the Downtown Moose Jaw Association.
City administration will prepare a contractual working agreement between the city and association so that city hall can provide administrative and general support to the business group.
Meanwhile, council approved $43,000 for the downtown association’s events and special projects.
Council voted 6-1 to approve this motion. Robinson was opposed.
Board of revision
A property assessment training session will be provided to members of city council, city administration, the board of revision and the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA), after the board of revision requested training for its new members.
Council will later decide during an executive meeting whether to allow the board of revision to spend $11,215 for further training.
Council voted unanimously for this initiative.
Job evaluation framework
Council voted 4-2 to adopt an out-of-scope job evaluation framework retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021, with the $99,196 cost for 2021 from accumulated salary reserves. In 2022, $74,482 will come from salary reserves, while $60,414 will come from the operating budget.
The hike will affect 18 positions within city administration.
Council voted 4-2 to approve this motion. Robinson and Luhning were opposed. Tolley was absent.
Investment portfolio drawdown
Council voted 5-1 to approve the drawdown of $7,285,107 in interest from the investment portfolios to fund city programs and services, such as capital projects in transportation and parks and recreation and operating projects for parks and rec.
An extra $2 million and $111,023 will be drawn down and put into the solid waste reserve account and the crematorium building reserve, respectively. This means a total of $9,396,130 in interest will be withdrawn from the portfolios.
Luhning was opposed to the motion.
Police service
Council unanimously approved the Moose Jaw Police Service’s 2022 budget, which includes an operating increase of 4.67 per cent or $498,719. This means the agency will receive $11.16 million in public funding next year compared to $10.66 million this year.
Council also approved the police service’s request for $254,400 in capital funding, compared to $450,000 this year.
Public library
Council unanimously approved the Moose Jaw Public Library’s 2022 operating budget of $1.23 million, up from $1.20 million this year.
Third-party funding
Council unanimously approved the operating funding requests from 14 third-party community groups totalling $13,620,991, compared to $12,932,480 this year.
OCP and zoning bylaw
City administration will pursue an update to the Official Community Plan (OCP) and zoning bylaw for $250,000.
The OCP is a document that guides and manages the city’s growth. Council approved both documents in 2011, but city administration says they need to be updated since the community has grown, the economic climate has changed, and new land has been annexed since then.
Council voted 5-1 to approve this motion. Luhning was opposed. Tolley was absent.
Parks and rec master plan
The parks and recreation department will hire an external consultant for $75,000 to develop a departmental master plan since one does not currently exist, while the last master plan was completed in 1976.
A new master plan will allow the department to adopt a clear vision over the next 10 years.
Council voted 5-1 to approve this motion. Luhning was opposed. Tolley was absent.
Community support program
The parks and rec department will implement a community association direct support program policy for $20,000. This policy will provide base funding, special initiative funding and strengthen community engagement opportunities with four community associations.
Each association will receive $5,000 in annual funding and can access an extra $4,000 for special initiatives. The total budget for this program will be $36,000.
Council voted unanimously in favour of this initiative.
City hall IT enhancements
City hall’s information technology (IT) department will proceed with purchasing scanning software for $18,069 and a program called Azure Active Directory Software for $20,000, with money to come from the operating budget.
The scanning software will make it easier to save documents into the internal management system. The directory software will move the city’s computers to a cloud-based system.
Council voted 6-1 to approve this project. Luhning was opposed.
