The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) held their annual convention this past week. Randy Trost, Reeve for the RM of Orkney, was in attendance, and says it was a valuable experience for him and the councillors in the RM.
The most valuable part of the convention is communication, whether with different levels of government or other RMs through the province, according to Trost. The council members at the convention learned more about communication, and Trost believes this was one of the most useful aspects of the week.
“I think getting along with all of your fellow councillors and RMs around your area is only an asset.”
The big issues in the room over the week involved emergency services in the area. Trost says that for a lot of RMs, protection is a worry, whether it’s protection from crime or from fire.
“We don’t have a lot of RCMP activity out in the open here. We only have two police basically from Theodore to Little Bone reserve. That’s a concern we have, we would like to see more... I think it’s money well spent to get more police, that’s something we will have to discuss in council, if each RM can spend some money it’s just for better safety of the people,” Trost said.
With fire protection, Trost is hoping to see more cooperation between departments, as well as more advertising when there is a fire ban so there are fewer fires in a dry year.
“With all the grass fires we’ve had in the past year, we want to put more money into fire and fire protection. If there is a fire, we would like to get as many surrounding RMs helping as we can, instead of each person doing their own thing.”
The other benefit of the convention was the trade show, because Trost says that it was a benefit to the RM to actually get a closer look at equipment. Orkney is considering buying new road grading equipment and equipment that will allow them to reclaim gravel, and Trost said that he and the other councillors spent the day touring the trade show floor in order to get a better idea of what they can get and what makes the most sense for their needs.
“That’s the only time you get a chance to look at it hands on. If you go buy something from a pamphlet, it’s like you buying a car just out of a picture, it looks a lot different from when you can sit in it, and look at it, and see how it actually works.”
When it comes to equipment, it’s a valuable opportunity to not only get a closer look at equipment, but also talk to other RMs who are using it to get a full picture of how well it works. Trost says that it’s all about making sure they’re doing the best they can for ratepayers, so the SARM convention is a way to accomplish that goal.
“I think [councillors] should go there so they can make intelligent decisions with the taxpayers’ money.”
