There wasn't much in the way of new goodies from the province for cities attending this year's Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Regina.
Indeed, North Battleford mayor Ian Hamilton acknowledged there weren't many new changes to emerge from the convention, which ran Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.
It was a "status quo kind of thing, as far as announcements by the government anyway," the mayor said.
Premier Brad Wall made his speech to delegates Jan. 30, the second day of the convention. Hamilton confirmed the premier gave every indication that his government was not planning to open up its wallet significantly in the coming budget.
The premier made it clear he was "quite interested in fiscal probity in the coming years," noted Hamilton, and "was giving us a signal not to expect any significant infrastructure capital funding to come forth in the near future."
That means the cities will have to make do with the current funding structure. That includes the municipal operating grant structure that was put in place during the provincial government's previous term in office.
The province "reiterated their advancements in the municipal operating grants file," said Hamilton, and it was recognized that, with the prosperity of the province, the share of the one per cent of the GST will garner more funds for the cities in the coming year.
"This is good for us," Hamilton said, but he noted there was still a significant infrastructure deficit.
"The number one issue facing cities, and I would say all the urban sector in Saskatchewan, is certainly the cost of infrastructure," said Hamilton.
He says that issue will be worked on "most intensely" over the next couple of years, and the mayor expressed hope the Cities Caucus of SUMA could work out an agreement on infrastructure similar to what was worked out on municipal operating grants previously, but addressing capital only.
Despite the lack of new funding news from the province, it was a productive conference for the City, Hamilton said.
The SUMA convention provided an opportunity for representatives from all the cities and towns in the province to gather, network and discuss issues of importance to communities across the province.
Hamilton said most of North Battleford council was in attendance as was City Manager Jim Toye.
The Town of Battleford also had a strong presence, as did other communities from throughout the Northwest region. Hamilton said he was able to meet the newly elected mayor of Meadow Lake, Gary Vidal, for the first time at this year's convention.
Highlights of SUMA for the delegates were meetings and bearpit sessions with cabinet ministers on issues of importance. Health Minister Don McMorris fielded a host of questions from several municipalities at the convention.
One bit of news that emerged from Hamilton's meetings with McMorris during one of the breakout sessions was reaffirmation from the health minister of the government's previous announcement to build a new Saskatchewan Hospital.
"That reaffirmation was definitely there," said Hamilton, with construction likely to begin in 2013. Hamilton called that good news.
The resolution session saw no real surprises as far as voting was concerned. Most of the resolutions that were before the convention were passed and adopted, though one was defeated and there were some amendments passed.
Among the resolutions passed was one co-sponsored by North Battleford, asking the provincial government to amend the Cities Act to allow the attachment of unpaid utility bills to tax arrears, similar to what was provided for in the Municipalities Act. That resolution was the one the City was most interested in, Hamilton said.
