Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block spoke at a North Saskatoon Business Association event on Thursday.
It may be time for the City of Saskatoon to increase its snow removal budget, since recent years have brought more of the white stuff than usual, Mayor Cynthia Block told a business luncheon this week.
“I think that based on what we are seeing right now, it would be good for us to put more resources inside neighbourhoods,” Block said, adding that she couldn’t elaborate further at the moment.
Speaking to members of the North Saskatoon Business Association on Thursday, she acknowledged there’s plenty of work for the new city council to get through on a wide range of issues.
She appreciates the different outlook of council’s six new members, she said.
Council had its first public meeting earlier this week, and budget deliberations are set to begin on Monday.
“The real beauty of what I am learning from the new members of council is that it’s a fresh lens,” Block said. “It’s an opportunity to look at things a little bit differently.”
The city is growing, and council is looking at ways to create more density in areas where municipal services are already established, she said, noting that a key part of this plan is to modernize the public transportation system.
“It’s all designed to make sure we have a system that allows people that option to ride the bus.”
Increased use of the transit system would leave more room on the road for those who choose to drive their own vehicles, she noted.
Block acknowledged that many voters have expressed concerns about the planned Downtown Event and Entertainment District (DEED).
“We need to do a better job explaining this to people,” she said.
Renovating the existing SaskTel Centre instead would be extraordinarily expensive and would not bring events into the core of the city, Block noted, adding that no other level of government would put money into a project like that.
Every resident of Saskatoon — not just those who attend events — would benefit from a project like the DEED, she said.
“(Event and entertainment facilities) need to be there because it attracts residential and commercial growth.”
Council has committed to only move forward on the DEED if there is no property tax impact, she added.
If Saskatoon wants to address crime, getting people off the streets and into safe housing is vital, she said.
Homeless people are often victims of crime rather than perpetrators, because they’re easy targets for organized crime groups, she added.
Although the 37 new police officers hired this year are urgently needed, “We’re not going to police our way out of it,” she said.
When the topic shifted to taxes, Block said the city went through a long process last year to find savings in the budget, but inflation is a major factor. A new fire engine that cost $800,000 in 2020 is now priced in the range of $2 million, she said.
“I’m supportive of the budget going forward because it’s actually making sure that we get to keep our Building Better Roads program in good shape,” she added, noting that the city ends up paying more later if it cuts back on items like that.
Block noted that the additional police officers coming to Saskatoon are funded by the province, but the city is still responsible for the costs of equipping them.
“If it wasn’t for the police ask right now, we would have a lower budget estimate than what had been predicted (last year),” she said.
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