City provides update on impact from COVID-19 in second State of City address

“The priority of course was the safety of everybody in North Battleford and those who were visiting [here],” Bater said.

This has resulted in lost revenue from funds raised through events and admission sales.

“We reacted by reducing our operating expenses in those facilities,” the mayor said. “This included a temporary layoff of a number of city employees, especially within the Parks and Recreation area.”

During the layoff, council offered to extend health benefits to those employees affected, the mayor said.

The city is considering a special council meeting before Canada Day to address the financial impact of the pandemic relating to facility closures and the province’s public health orders.

Bater said now that the province’s Re-Open Saskatchewan phases are underway, a number of facilities such as the boat launch and skatepark were able to open. The Credit Union CUplex facilities, arenas and many other indoor facilities remain closed. When the province sets a date when certain indoor facilities will be able to re-open, it is expected there will be capacity restrictions.

When the city’s CO-OP Aquatic Centre, for example, can reopen it will be at a significantly reduced capacity, which will mean reduced revenue generated for the city.

“[This] creates a greater reliance on taxpayers to subsidize,” the mayor said. “Right now we aim for a 50 per cent recovery-rate on our facilities through event rentals and ticket revenue.

“The other 50 per cent comes from our tax base.”

When facilities reopen, the city will be responsible for collecting information from those accessing the facilities for contact tracing in the event someone tests positive for COVID-19.

“These are important considerations,” the mayor said.

Bater said the city continues to look for efficiencies to reduce its bottom line. Last fall administration saved $500,000 in operations costs, while this year it is looking to reduce costs by $250,000. The city has also reduced its long-term debt significantly in the last year and a half.

“It put the city in a much stronger financial position at the beginning of this year,” the mayor said. “Pre-COVID we were in a very strong position. The pandemic has created some unique challenges.”

The mayor commended city adminstration for its work in preparing the city for the pandemic in solidifying the city’s finances to be able to “weather this storm in a very positive way.”

“Given the circumstances, the city is in a strong position. The state of the city is good,” the mayor said. “We are prepared for future storms.”

Future challenges

Looking ahead, the city expects some further financial challenges.

Bater said it is anticipated the municipal revenue sharing funds from the Provincial Sales Tax will be reduced in the future, taking into account the two-year lag.

“Based on the numbers we saw in the provincial budget, we anticipate in the year 2022 there will be a reduction in the municipal revenue sharing funds coming from the provincial government to our city of about $330,000,” the mayor said. “That is something we are going to have to have to prepare for.”

The mayor said the city also expects to see policing costs increase in the future. He said it is anticipated there will be a new labour agreement with the RCMP on the way, which could create a 15 per cent to 20 per cent increase in policing costs for North Battleford. As well Bater said if the city population exceeds 15,000 people in the next census, it will be subject to a new funding agreement with the RCMP. The city currently pays 70 per cent of RCMP contracting costs. That would change to 90 per cent at the higher population category.

“So there are a number of financial considerations over the coming years we need to prepare for, and we will be prepared for,” the mayor said. “It is important for us to be able to forecast these things, predict these things and be ready when they come.”

Green Energy project

Bater also offered a number of updates during the meeting on city projects planned or underway, including new funding for an energy-efficiency study.

He announced the city was recently approved for the Green Municipal Fund, through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The city plans to use the funds for a feasibility study to identify potential initiatives in North Battleford to make the city more energy efficient and reduce operating expenses. The estimated study value is $361,000, with the FCM grant covering $175,000 of that amount. The remainder will be covered by the city’s federal gas tax fund remittance, which was doubled last year.

“We’re very excited about that,” Bater said of the new funding.

The mayor said the city is having a “strong year” in 2020 for building permit values, with construction on the rise.

Included among the city’s larger projects ahead is the primary sanitary sewer trunk upgrade. The project has now entered the design phase, with construction expected to start in 2021. The federal and provincial governments are each contributing $4,533,333, for a total of about two-thirds of the funding of this roughly $14-million project to increase the city’s storm sewer and sewer capacity.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

by Angela Brown

City provides update on impact from COVID-19 in second State of City address

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