It is a great opportunity for Humboldt to have its voice heard.
Mayor Malcolm Eaton of Humboldt was voted in as the chair of the City Mayors' Caucus, a branch of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA). The caucus met in Regina for two days the week of December 3.
"As the chair of the City Mayors' Caucus, I now sit on the executive of the SUMA board," said Eaton. "This is an important opportunity for Humboldt's voice to be part of the SUMA organization and provides us with an opportunity to engage with representatives throughout the province."
The fall meeting of the caucus, consisting of 16 cities from the province, focused on growth planning, challenges the cities are facing around infrastructure and funding and some of the regulatory obstacles they run into.
"At these meetings, there is a lot of sharing going on between the cities about different things that different cities are doing or have done," said Eaton. "It is a great opportunity to learn from the experience of others and to share our own experiences. It has always been very valuable in that regard."
The caucus also contributes to SUMA policy development that is presented to the provincial government.
"For the last couple of years, we have been working with the provincial government in a number of areas," said Eaton. "One in particular has been the development of a provincial infrastructure program."
They also communicate with the federal government in the same way.
"Our role is to try to highlight and identify for the province the need and the growing gap that we have for funding the infrastructure," said Eaton. "The asset management part of this process is important because it identifies the need and it identifies the gap and it identifies the cost."
The Mayors' Caucus appreciates the contribution the government has made to their operating grants that are provided to the cities every year.
"We now receive, as municipalities across the province, big and small, one per cent of the PST," said Eaton. "That means 20 per cent of the provincial sales tax collected in the province is redistributed to municipalities throughout the province to help with operating needs."
The funds help the cities provide additional staff, do planning work, spend money on upgrades to facilities and technology, and help with financing other projects.
"Those are the things the operating grant helps with," said Eaton. "It's the day-to-day operations of the city, so it is a great benefit to the city and we appreciate the partnership we have with the provincial government in that program."
While at the caucus meeting, the mayors also had the opportunity to meet with the provincial cabinet and had supper with them.
"We were very pleased to have the opportunity," said Eaton. "It was well attended by cabinet members."
Not only were they able to make a presentation to the cabinet, they also were able to engage in informal dialogue during supper.
"This is an important connection for us bringing greater awareness to the cabinet and provincial government about the work we are doing and the efforts we are making to have a strong relationship with the provincial government and a partnership as we take on the challenges and the opportunities of a growing Saskatchewan," said Eaton. "The mayors of Saskatchewan's cities want the province to ensure growth is more than just a buzzword."
