Those who will be part of Estevan city council in the next term have a better idea of how much they will be compensated.
Council approved the council remuneration recommendation at the Sept. 23 meeting. The compensation that members receive will be tied to MLA salaries.
In the past few terms, a committee of independent community members has determined council’s compensation.
Council ruled that the mayor should be paid 55 per cent of the MLA’s salary, while councillors should receive one-third of the mayor’s wage. The MLA’s base salary for the 2020-21 fiscal year is $100,068. It means the mayor will receive $55,037 in 2021, while council members get $18,345.
If the MLA’s wage increases, then council’s stipend will go up. If the MLA’s wage drops, like it did a few years ago, then council’s wage will decrease.
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Council approved to partially reimburse the RM of Estevan regarding an call in May of this year. The fire department was called to a fire in the RM of Cambria, and once they were finished with the call, they came across what appeared to be an uncontrolled fire.
At the time, there hadn’t been a notification of a controlled burn. They started suppression, brought the fire under control and returned to the station. As per the fire suppression service agreement, it was billed accordingly.
After a meeting earlier in September, it was noted the landowner was upset. Fire Chief Dale Feser suggested that the RM not bill the landowner, because the point of origin was in the right of way easement into the roadway.
Ultimately, council decided to split the $963.59 cost with the RM. Councillors Lyle Yanish and Dennis Moore voted against the motion, with Yanish saying the fire department did their job, and there wasn’t a burn permit, so the city shouldn’t pay the cost.
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A document showed the progress that has been made financially in the past few years. The comprehensive report shows that in 2014, the city’s cash balance was nearly 1.7 million in the red; it has peaked at $7.17 million at the end of 2018 and was at $6.12 million at the end of 2019. Total financial assets were just over $8 million in 2014, and were above $14 million in 2019.
Long-term debt started at about $32 million in 2014, grew slightly in 2015, but stood at $23.7 million at the end of last year. Net debt – the amount of assets versus liabilities, has been gradually declining from $32 million in 2014 to $16.8 million at the end of 2019. Long-term debt accounts for the majority of net debt.
The document also studied people’s property taxes. More than 30 per cent of commercial and residential property taxes goes to schools, while taxes also go to a library levy and a health levy. The city receives more than 60 per cent of municipal property taxes for its operations.
The document also looked at how much money has been spent on capital for both utility and general fund, and some of the large projects that were completed.
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Council granted a final extension for a property on Hawkes Bay in northwest Estevan to be developed. The initial agreement was entered into in May 2018, and an extension was issued on Dec. 5, 2019, requiring a home to be under construction no later than June 30 of this year. The landowner asked to allow for construction to begin in June 2023, but council gave the extension to June 2021.
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The building permit report for August showed there were six permits worth $610,953 issued in August, bringing the toal for the year to 40 permits worth $3.3 million. All six permits were classified as miscellaneous.
Last year there were four permits worth $316,375 in August, and the numbers for the first eight months of 2019 were 26 permits for $1.6 million.
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Council gave first reading to a heritage bylaw, which helps create the criteria for heritage buildings in the city. There are currently two in the city: the Estevan Court House and the North West Mounted Police Museum, which is adjacent to the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.
A new, two-stage evaluation process will be created. The first step will be candidacy status, which means they would not have formal designation but would have some protection. Once candidacy status has been achieved, the landowner can proceed to do the necessary work to obtain a heritage designation.
Land development services manager Richard Neufeld said they chose the two-step process because people won’t have to hire an architect for $30,000 to come and do an investigation for the first stage. This should be more cost-effective for the landowner.
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This was the final meeting for the current council before the civic election on Nov. 9. Council’s next meeting will be the searing-in session on Nov. 16.
