OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook held a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, January 26. Present were councillors Kyle McLeod, Sharon Bruce, Justin Turton, and Kevin Grotheim, as well as Mayor Maureen Weiterman, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and office clerk Crystal Fisher. Absent were councillors Bob Stephenson and Ryan Husband.
The meeting was broadcast live on the town's official Facebook page.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Bylaws
Second and third readings of Bylaw 01 (2022) Utility Services Reserve Bylaw were recommended, and they were carried by Council.
Next, Council discussed Bylaw 02 Anti Bullying Bylaw & Harassment Bylaw. It was said that it's important to note that bullying and harassment can happen at any age. The Outlook RCMP has been instrumental in passing similar bylaws in the past. This bylaw has been looked at in the past, and it looks at the issue from a unique perspective. The recommendation was that Council give the bylaw a first reading.
There have been questions as to why this should be done, and it was said that the RCMP would do most of the "heavy lifting" associated with it, and any money that could be collected from fines would see some funds go back to the Town. It's possible that any money that comes back to the Town from fines may go toward some form of anti-bullying cause. Councillor McLeod brought up a concern that sometimes in addressing bullying and harassment, it can become a "he said, she said" issue. Administrator Trew said that in talking with Jesse Kimball of the Outlook RCMP, he learned that many of the measures from a provincial and national perspective "don't have teeth", and so a community measure at the ground level can have more weight to it.
It was said that implementing such bylaws will not cost the Town anything. Mayor Weiterman suggested that the RCMP come to the next Council meeting to talk about it. Councillor Grotheim said he had an issue with the Town getting involved in such measures because it is a bit of a grey area. Motion was made for the first reading, and it was carried. Cst. Kimball will be asked to come and speak at the next meeting.
Next up was discussion on Bylaw 03 Snow Management Bylaw.
The bylaw deals with the fact that from time to time, one or two commercial property owners in town may neglect their responsibility to remove snow or ice from the sidewalk in front of their property.
The current bylaw that was passed in 2013, while it defines the fine associated with the neglect, is said to come short of solving the problem of snow or ice on the sidewalk and does not actually get it removed.
Administration has drafted a bylaw that should address removal of the snow or ice in a timely manner; if this is not performed, the Town will be authorized to pay to remove the snow or ice and charge the property owner, and finally collect through taxation if payment does not arrive in a timely manner.
A motion was made for the bylaw's first reading and it was carried.
Council next discussed Bylaw 04 Administration Bylaw, which is defined as "A Bylaw of the Town of Outlook in the Province of Saskatchewan to provide for the Administration of the Municipal Corporation and to set forth the duties and powers of the Administrator and Designates."
Essentially, the purpose of the bylaw is to establish the office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Superintendent of Municipal Operations, Assistant Administrator, and the Superintendent of Community Development. It also establishes who may sign documents on behalf of the municipality, and establishes the powers, duties and functions of municipal officials and/or employees of the Town of Outlook.
The recommendation was to give this first reading, which was carried.
Finally, Council discussed Bylaw 05 Municipal Tax Prompt Payment/Penalty Bylaw. The bylaw states that taxes which remain unpaid after the 31st of December of the year in which they're levied shall be subject to penalty, and the method of calculating that penalty would be to have it be a rate of 10% per annum, added on January 1 and applied to the total taxes that would remain unpaid on that date. Taxes that remain unpaid after the last day of every subsequent month following December of the year they're levied would be subject to an additional penalty, which would be calculated using a rate of 1.5% per month, added on the first day of each month applied to the total tax arrears and penalties that remain unpaid at the end of each month, preceding the month in which the penalty would be applied.
There is an incentive program offered, including discounts that would encourage pre-payment of municipal taxes ranging from 4-6%. There are also discounts ranging from 2-4% offered under the Prompt Payment option.
The recommendation was to give this bylaw its first reading, which was carried.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
The upcoming annual general meeting by SAMA (Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency) was discussed, and Administrator Trew said he would be attending the meeting virtually. The meeting is in April, so Council has time to consider whether or not to attend. The topic will be brought back to another meeting.
Mayor and Councillor's Forum
Mayor Weiterman learned that Doug Ball has wrapped up his time spent serving with the Outlook & District Health Foundation, resigning his position. Mayor Weiterman commended him for all the work that he did over the years.
"I'd like to thank Doug Ball for all the years he's put in, and I can't even list all the things that he's done with regards to the hospital and health foundation, so I'd just like to recognize that, and thank you very much," she said.
Unfinished Business
The closure of the alley located behind AG Foods was discussed, and it was said that all parties that would be affected by the closure have been notified and are fine with it. Motion was made and carried to move forward on the plans.
New Business
Council also discussed the management of the SaskAlert system. It's an emergency broadcast program that's managed by the provincial government, used in the case of a wide array of emergency situations. It was being worked on before by a previous administrator, but it was left incomplete. It was said that Council is the governing body who declares a state of emergency. Office clerk Fisher has completed some of the program's training already, so she spoke of what would take place in the event of an emergency such as who to contact, what measures would be taken, etc. A motion was made and carried to have Crystal be the person overseeing the system.
In discussing the Town's 2022 Operations Budget, it was said that the document will be looked at and updated again, so as of now it can be classified as preliminary for the time being. The Town is not looking at making any major expenditures in 2022, reducing the numbers in that regard from 2021.
Sharing a few notes and thoughts on the budget after the meeting, Administrator Trew said the document will be brought back to the next meeting to be approved after fixing a few errors. Trew shared the following notes on some of the budget's highlights.
"The Town of Outlook has already increased sewer and water rates for utility payers for 2022 and there will be increased rates for landfill use in March of 2022 as well as anticipated increases in user fees for recreation facilities later in 2022," he said. "Having said all of this, Council finds it imperative that staff present to them a budget where there will be minimal increases in the overall tax levy in 2022. The Town of Outlook staff are working to present a budget with no increase in the overall tax levy in 2022 over 2021.
If we can swing an overall 0% tax increase in 2022, this does not necessarily mean that the Town will receive exactly the same amount of money for taxes overall AND it also does not mean each taxpayer will have the same tax bill in 2022 as they received in 2021; there are factors such as municipal tax abatements, new developments and previously exempt properties entering into the mix as well as the education property tax levy dictated by the Province which is beyond the Town’s control and assessment appeals as well as valuation changes that occur with assessment each year that will affect the total revenue for the Town and specific property taxation.
It should be noted that the Town has introduced a bylaw to shift the incentive for pre-payment and prompt payment earlier in the year for 2022 and going forward into the future; anticipating that the tax levy will be issued in May 2022 (a full 6 weeks earlier than 2021). We are confident that the taxpayer will be able to rely on their tax notice in May each year going forward.
In addition, the Town will be sending out information in February regarding additional payment options in order for those to take advantage of monthly payment plans and receiving discount on early payment of taxes as well as regular monthly payment of utilities to lighten the load of lump sum payments for those whose budgets don’t allow."
