Dear Editor
I attended the city council meeting Monday night [last week]. Many awards were given to citizens and citizen groups. There were handshakes and smiles all around. It's great to see residents rewarded for attention to detail, care and pride in their work.
Then came the 2025 preliminary budget review and economic update report from Brian Acker, director of Financial Services.
During the executive committee meeting, we in the chamber heard that the 2025 municipal tax rate could go up three to four per cent.
And there's more.
The Crescent View Lift Station project requires $26 million. The city was not successful in its grant application that would have provided financial assistance for this project. Acker said, “It’s doubtful the city can afford that project.”. Acker also stated, “If the lift station fails, Moose Jaw comes to a halt.”
But still, City Hall salaries and benefits are expected to increase by $650,000, close to half of Moose Jaw’s operating budget expenditures. This expense is not a surprise to the city budget, and I do not begrudge employees a good living wage.
There was no mention of reviewing department budgets or suspending projects that are not mandatory for the health and welfare of our city.
There was discussion about approving the budget on time. I would rather have the budget carefully reviewed before its approval than approve a document that has not met its burden of need to the taxpayer.
Residents and businesses are grappling with higher assessments and the number of tax title properties is ever growing.
Is the only option to raise taxes? Or should we as residents ask the administration and council to take some pride, care and attention to detail when reviewing its operations management, and budget, to see where they can be more efficient?
We cannot blame inflation and COVID recovery exclusively for where we are today. This has taken years to get to where we are. We have a beautiful city with a healthy tourism sector. We can maintain what we have, take on modest projects and properly prepare for the inevitable project costs of our infrastructure.
I have carefully constructed policy and a process to change how the city receives and vets land development proposals. I have another plan to create more entry-level housing which will encourage our students and workers to “Get a Life” in Moose Jaw and not have to commute. We can clean up derelict properties and we can assist our not-for-profit agencies in caring for our underserved.
We have a choice; we have an election. There are other options rather than raising your taxes. The choice is yours Moose Jaw. Ask the tough questions of those who want your vote.
Carla Delaurier
Moose Jaw
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
