Lloydminster was one of the many municipalities that attended the 2018 Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Regina.
This was the the first convention with the province’s new Premier Scott Moe. According to Mayor Gerald Aalbers Premier Moe cautioned the local governments that there are funding challenges that will be in the 2018 provincial budget.
“Indicated that they plan on holding the grant money consistent so even though costs continue to rise due to inflation and other factors out of our control. We won’t see anymore money from the provincial government in the form of support from their programming.”
The Saskatchewan provincial budget is set to come out April 10, later than previous years.
Aalbers said he did raise concerns for the city about the policing costs that are rising, especially since the city’s RCMP detachment is located in Alberta, as well as the legalization of cannabis.
“We expect that the government will hopefully table some regulations around cannabis for Saskatchewan at that time or very shortly after March 10th, which will give us some direction on what to expect for regulations that we will need to ensure that our bylaws, process and procedures follow after that.”
This was council’s second time attending the convention and Aalbers said it was an opportunity to meet a lot of new faces who have recently been elected, but not losing sight of the needs of the city’s residents.
“Many communities in Saskatchewan are facing the same challenges. More government regulations in some areas and less government funding, putting strain on the system that we have and trying to ensure we deliver the level of services that people have come to expect.”
The convention ran from Sunday, February 4 to Wednesday, February 7.