City council increased the meter deposit for city utilities to $200, applicable to all tenants, to help reduce the amount of writeoffs of bad debts when tenants leave without paying off their utilities.
Council decided to go this way with utilities after losing a motion to not only increase the deposit to $200, but also transfer any uncollectible debts to the landlord’s tax account, made possible by new legislation in The Cities Act.
Since Jan. 1 of this year, the deposit has been $150.
Writeoffs for 2014 totalled $3,500, which is about 0.104 per cent of the yearly billing amount. The deposit is applied against the bill left outstanding when tenants abandon their residence and leave no forwarding information.
The $200 deposit is the equivalent of about four months of minimal water usage.
One of the concerns expressed about the increased deposit is that older tenants in the city only paid $25 or $50 as a deposit; making the deposit $200 means some of these long-time tenants will have to pay $150 or $175 additional deposit.
The new deposit amounts will affect 31 tenants who paid $175 on deposit; 181 tenants who’ve paid $150; 179 tenants who’ve paid a $100 deposit; 13 tenants who paid a $50 deposit; and five tenants who paid a $25 deposit.
City council voted to change their insurance provider for 2015 with a bid that should save the city money.
Up until now, the city has relied on SGI Canada for municipal coverage, but this fall the city was approached by two companies that specialize in municipal insurance coverage, and asked to be able to supply a bid to cover the city’s needs. SGI’s current coverage expires on Dec. 31 of this year.
The other firms are JLT Canada, a large Toronto-based firm with a large number of municipal clients in Ontario and B.C., with some in Alberta and Saskatchewan; and SUMAssure, which is operated through SUMA and administered by AON Risk Solutions; this coverage provides a portion of self-funding or member equity, which can provide a rebate to participating municipalities as the equity of the company grows.
Mayor Debra Button, who is president of SUMA (Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association), noted this company is at an arm’s length from the SUMA board, so she didn’t need to excuse herself from voting on this issue.
Price ranges were provided for $10 million coverage and a $5,000 deductible, and $20 million coverage with a $5,000 deductible.
Council opted to go with $20 million coverage under SUMAssure instead of SGI; their bid was $189,028, while JLT bid $187,140 for $25 million coverage. SGI had not submitted a bid, but quoted a price of $215,389 for $10 million coverage.
Coun. Rob Stephanson noted that SUMAssure had previously had “significantly higher” rates in the past.
“I like the fact they have a component of self-insurance and we are building equity in this program. It’s still local and their rates are down; it’s a god time to make a change,” said Coun. Stephanson.
The Weyburn Parks Board is hoping for better weather this year as they make plans for Winterfest in February, on the Family Day holiday.
The plan is to hold Winterfest on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, with both outdoor and indoor events in the works.
Outdoor events will include skating, cross-country skiing and possibly snowshoeing as well. Indoors there are plans for a craft class in the Sun Room at the Leisure Centre, and free swimming, so these events can still be held even if there is poor weather. Last year there were plans for Winterfest outdoor activities, but it had to be cancelled due to cold weather.
Council also heard that the Parks Board and the Environmental Resources committee are working together to coordinate a spring cleanup day in 2015. A date will be chosen at the next Environmental Resources meeting, and the two committees will hold further discussion on what activities will comprise cleanup day this coming spring.
The Parks Board also turned down a request to leave some snow on some of the walking paths in Jubilee Park, to be used for cross-country ski trails through the winter.
The board decided to reject the request, as they felt the pathways through Jubilee Park are well-used by pedestrians, and are kept clear of snow; they also felt having these trails might pose a potential safety hazard to pedestrians.
From the Facilities Advisory committee, the city received notification that the Community Initiatives Fund have approved the city’s request for a grant for a new spray park in River Park; the grant, which is a matching-funds grant, is in the amount of $25,000.
The city will now have to enter into an agreement with the Community Initiatives Fund board, and the project will now proceed with a design and request for proposal process for the spray park.
The committee was also told that two projects for the 2014 maintenance plan were not completed, but 99 per cent of the jobs were done for the year.
The two projects not completed were the vestibule at the Signal Hill Arts Centre, for which cost estimates were over the budgeted amount, and painting of the City Works workshop, which was booked but cannot be completed before year-end.
The funding for Signal Hill will be redirected to paint areas on the first and third floors, and vestibule will be included in the 2015 budget with an increased amount. The funding for painting the workshop will be carried forward to 2015 as well.
