Taylor still eager to serve North Battleford

“We have to find ways of ensuring that the people of North Battleford are financially protected as we move forward,” he said. “But also that we are able to provide the services that people expect from their city administration and city officials.”

One of the first orders of business for the new council in November will be budget work, a process that will begin a week following the municipal election. Taylor said having one, two or more of the previous council members return should help in making sure the budget is completed quickly and takes into account all financial affairs.

“That’s a significant challenge, not to mention the challenges we face day to day in this time,” he said.

Some other challenges Taylor expects to remain important in the coming months include changing the narrative of being a crime town and continuing significant development around the region. He also wants to continue working on relationships with other governments, whether it’s rural municipalities or bigger bodies like the province and the Federal government.

“There’s going to be different opportunities for different levels of government to provide different types of funding to municipalities,” Taylor said. “And as far as our neighbours are concerned, our abilities to share some of those resources to achieve significant things that we need [as a community].”

Taylor said this will have an effect on other issues like crime. He added it’s important to remember that relationship building also affects everyone surrounding North Battleford.

“The fact that we are on a provincial and national highway, which brings people from all over the place into our community, means the relationship we have with other levels of government is important in addressing this [issue],” he said.

Taylor said his experience being in parliament and in the legislature is useful in helping make sure the city has good relationships with neighbours and governments. This is something he said he’s used to push forward on things he’s passionate about, like recreational services being delivered.

“I think my experience has helped in that regard over the last four years and should continue to help as we move forward,” he said. “Especially in accessing the resources we need quickly.”

In working for the city’s interests, Taylor said his other key strength is that people know him as a common-sense guy. Regardless of political preference, they can always come talk to him.

“That’s given me confidence and enthusiasm to carry on and do what needs to be done,” he said.

That desire to interact with people directly has made this particular election challenging, with face-to-face meetings limited by COVID-19 guidelines. Taylor said it really makes a big difference not having face to face when trying to engage voters.

“When you’ve only got a few minutes on a doorstep and you’re separated by a step and a mask, all you can say is ‘hi my name is so-and-so, I hope you can get your support and you move on,’” he said. “I think politics is about communication and interaction with people and if you can’t do that, it makes it difficult for all the issues to come out.”

Despite challenges in the past decade for North Battleford, Taylor said he is proud of the city’s progress, particularly how this past term of councilors were able to work through difficulties and work well together. He’s very proud of the investments made in business growth.

“It’s one of the reasons I am running again,” he said. “Because we’ve started a lot of projects and it would be nice to see them through and tie them together, with the next series of things that need to be done.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports

by Josh Ryan

Taylor still eager to serve North Battleford

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