Better communications between city hall and residents and cutting red tape for entrepreneurs were two topics discussed during a forum featuring the 15 candidates vying to become city councillors.
The Kinsmen Club and the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce teamed up to host an online forum on Oct. 27, giving each of the 15 candidates a chance to answer pre-determined questions and questions from viewers. The candidates were divided into three groups of five, giving them almost enough time to speak about the topics.
The 15 individuals running for the six councillor seats are Doug Blanc, Joni Brisbin, Jody Chell, Heather Eby (incumbent), Crystal Froese (incumbent), Jamaal James, Jamey Logan, Trevor McPherson, Dawn Luhning (incumbent), Kim Robinson, Doug Schick, Nicholas Styck, Earl Swalm, Steven White and Dwayne St. Dennis.
St. Dennis was unable to attend due to technical issues.
The roadmap to recovery
The chamber asked two of the groups what their plan would be to help the municipality recover from the pandemic.
Froese said she would lobby for tax and utility increases of zero per cent to alleviate taxpayers’ financial stress. She also wanted council to work with the province to fund shovel-ready projects.
It will probably be 2024 before the city’s budget settles down, said Eby. While zero-per-cent tax increases might not be possible, she hoped that taxes remained low into the future. Furthermore, she didn’t want to see cutbacks to infrastructure projects such as the cast iron replacement program.
“As much as people want zero-per-cent increases in taxes and utilities, they also want the services they know and love,” she added. “Those still have to be accounted for in the budget.”
Council will have to develop a long-term roadmap since the pandemic will be here a while, said Chell. She believed that cuts could be made to construction projects and the money managed better.
Brisbin suggested that council should tap into provincial and federal grants for support. Furthermore, growing businesses and economic development could help the municipality rebuild its finances and keep taxes low. She also thought brainstorming ideas via crowdsourced-input was an option.
Since small businesses make up most of Moose Jaw’s tax base, council should ensure those shops and workers continue to work, said Blanc, adding he didn’t think taxpayers would accept huge tax increases.
Technology can help
Rebuilding jobs and supporting small businesses should be part of the plan, echoed James. This could mean council would have to refrain from taxing residents to death.
Logan thought council should stick with a strategic plan developed in 2019 so that no one made any knee-jerk reactions.
“If we stay the course, the city will be fine,” he added.
Technology will help the city communicate with residents and assist businesses to conduct business, said Luhning. She thought council would have to adapt to the needs of a changing world.
City hall already has a plan to handle the pandemic, but council might have to review the results and correct any mistakes, such as transportation, said McPherson. He also thought city hall needed to communicate better with residents.
“I’m not in favour of tax increases. We have to look for innovative ways to increase tax revenue, especially as we come out of the pandemic and people (will be) hurting,” said Robinson.
Cutting red tape
A viewer-submitted question asked how candidates would help new businesses cut through the red tape at city hall. The viewer indicated that two businesswomen gave up starting a new business after facing many hurdles.
“I have heard comments that city council and some at city administration don’t respond to citizens,” said Blanc. While he didn’t know how many emails or calls city hall received, he thought municipal officials could respond better.
One solution he offered is that councillors should visit sites and potential businesses to understand what is happening.
Brisbin thought council should review processes to make better decisions and create better policies to grow the community. She added that she, too, has heard from residents that acquiring approvals from city hall “is a tedious process.”
“We don’t want to put in place any blockages that stop people from building their dreams or for businesses (to operate) in Moose Jaw,” she added.
City hall needs to better inform business owners about what services are available, said Eby, who noted that she attempted to help the businesswomen. Eby thought there should be a phone number that entrepreneurs could call to know what to do before starting their business.
The viewer who submitted the question came to the heritage advisory committee looking for help since the businesswomen wanted to operate in a heritage house, said Froese, noting she attempted to help and look for solutions. This situation also shows that city hall needs to do better supporting heritage buildings.
The municipal election is Monday, Nov. 9.
