The City of Moose Jaw paid out $48.4 million last year in contracts to various companies, but when asked about what projects some companies completed, city administration was unable to say.
Municipal officials presented the document during city council’s Aug. 24 regular meeting. The public accounts report listed every municipal employee who earned more than $50,000 last year, along with every company that did business with city hall and was paid more than $50,000.
Council voted 6-1 to receive and file the document; Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed.
Swanson asked city administration several questions about the contractual expenses in the report, including why Canadian Tire Real Estate Limited was paid $65,610.82, what Cash for Chaos is and why it was paid $50,635.26, and what Emshay Enterprises Ltd. is and why it was paid $138,930.73.
In response to the Canadian Tire question, city manager Jim Puffalt replied, “We have to check. That seems a bit odd to us.” He acknowledged the money might have been for a commission the municipality had to pay, while it could also have been for an environmental and geotechnical assessment it shared with the company.
In response to the Cash for Chaos query, Puffalt said, “We’ll get back to you.”
Brian Acker, director of finance, jumped in and said that could be related to the former Downtown Facility and Field House (DFFH) organization or Mosaic Place and building operator Spectra Venue Management Services.
Swanson pointed out that Cash for Chaos is a clothing distributor in Las Vegas, Nev.
“We won’t speculate. We’ll get back to you,” said Puffalt.
Acker was unsure what Emshay Enterprises was and indicated city administration would have to research that company.
An internet search reveals Cash for Chaos — or Cash 4 Chaos, as the website indicates — is a company that sells clothing ranging from rockabilly, psychobilly, metal, punk, hardcore, and gothic.
Another internet search shows Emshay Enterprises is a company that supplies crushed rock and aggregate and is based in Moose Jaw.
Based on the report, some of the companies that received the largest contracts last year were:
- KMS Construction Ltd.: $9 million
- SaskPower: $3.5 million
- City of Regina: $2.9 million
- Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corp.: $2.8 million
- Hamm Construction Ltd.: $2.2 million
- Pasqua Paving: $1.7 million
- Palliser Regional Library: $1.1 million
- Loraas Disposal South Ltd.: $954,220.49
- Fort Garry Fire Trucks: $850,265.82
- Prestige Environment Inc.: $736,894.30
- Federated Co-operatives Ltd.: $729,945.93
- Henderson Insurance: $699,057.25
The total amount of contractual expenses the City of Moose Jaw paid out last year was $48.4 million.
The next regular council meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 8.
