Moment with the Mayor: SUMA Highlights

Hi Neighbours:

Last week was the 2015 SUMA Convention in Saskatoon. It was a busy few days.

·         Councillor Henry and I attended a professional development workshop. I spent my time learning about Community and Land Use Planning while Councillor Henry learned more about municipal human resources.

     ·         During the planning session, we covered the roles of various players and what Council’s role is around decision making and planning.

·         A big topic of conversation has been the province’s public talk about reducing municipalities’ share of revenue sharing; I talked about in last week’s Bean.

    ·         The Premier received polite applause for his remarks. We are still waiting for the province’s decision regarding revenue sharing. It could have a significant impact on our budget affecting level of service and tax rates.

·         A workshop was also held on Procurement and the process for making good request for tenders and proposals. Our job on Council is to reduce the Town’s exposure to risk, get the best value for us, and ensure a fair process for the bidders

·         There was also a session on Community Safety Officers (CS0). Council is looking at going to this level of service to provide improved compliance and enforcement.

    ·         The purpose of the CSO is to provide a more responsive model of enforcement with locally set priorities focused on risk assessment and compliance.

·         Monday afternoon, I shared a lot of information regarding our Youth Council including how it works, budget, communication, training, and their work levels.

·         There were also business meetings around different sectors.

    ·         Again, revenue sharing was in issue and infrastructure.

·         Journalist Chantal Hebert was a guest speaker but due to weather and cancelled flights, she was unable to attend in person and attempted to deliver her message using Skype. Unfortunately, the connection wasn't as good as we needed for a good delivery.

     ·         What we could hear about Hebert’s message was that the balance of power has shifted to urban centres, specifically the suburbs.

·         Tuesday, over lunch, I met with the Ministers of Health regarding next steps to implement the Kindersley Health Services Needs Assessment. There will be nothing to report on this until the roll out of the report.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.