WEYBURN - Weyburn city council passed an updated Emergency Measures Bylaw during their Monday night meeting.
City council had identified the review and update of the municipality’s Emergency Management plans as a priority. This included the Emergency Measures Bylaw and the City of Weyburn Emergency Plan developed in 1995 and last revised in 2011.
City Administration worked collaboratively with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) to ensure the Emergency Measures Bylaw and Emergency Plan meets all legislative requirements.
“The City of Weyburn has worked with SPSA to make sure we have proper emergency plans for our city,” said Mathew Warren, City Manager. “We looked at two things during this review. The first was our bylaw, which was a little out-dated, so we had to make sure it was up-to-date and fit into the requirements. The second was to make sure there was an emergency plan in place, so that city employees and officials can be prepared when an emergency happens.”
“We did a full scale review of our plan, which was last revised in 2011, and made sure to meet the requirements by the province, and to get our people trained by the guidelines.”
The Emergency Measures Bylaw establishes the Weyburn Emergency Measures Organization, a planning committee and the need for the appointment of the emergency measures coordinator.
The bylaw also clearly defines the roles of council, committee and emergency measures coordinator for the city.
The emergency plan provides the framework that defines the response and recovery measures that will be taken to enhance the health and safety of residents of the City of Weyburn during an emergency.
City employees and officials are already taking Incident Command System (ICS) training, which is an important aspect in ensuring emergency plans are implemented properly. City administration has been working with SPSA to provide ICS level 100, 200, 300, 400 and 402 to all employees and members of council as per the city’s ISC training matrix.
“We have completed levels 100 and 200 training, with individuals who already have completed their 300 and 400. Council is required to have a 402 training, so we have had intitial training with our council, and other councils,” explained Warren.
“These are tabletop trainings, which allows us to look at potential emergencies, have our team work together, within our own operations and with other agencies. It is important to have the knowledge and preparation in case an emergency happens.”
The SPSA’s Emergency Management Exercise Design Program will also include functional exercises and full-scale exercises on a three-year cycle.
Audited Financials
The City of Weyburn’s 2022 audit was recently completed by Grant Thornton. The 2022 budget to actual comparison showed a deficit budget due to interfund transfers, amortizations and transfer for capital purchases.
Budgeted revenue was $22,673,215 with the actual revenue at $24,247,996, which resulted in a difference of $1,574,871.
Budgeted expenses were $26,292,339 with the actual expenses at $26,649,647 - which resulted in a difference of $357,708.
Grants were budgeted at $671,765 with the actual grants received at $24,113, resulting in a difference of $647,652.
The projected deficit was $2,947,359, when compared to the actual deficit of $2,377,538.
Overall, the 2022 actual loss was $569,821 below the budgeted loss. The surplus is primarily due to above budget fee revenue within Recreation and Cultural, Environmental and Utility Services.
Other areas to highlight: cast and cash equivalents increased by $100,000. Taxes receivable increased by $110,000. Other accounts receivable decreased by $960,000, as the prior year the City of Weyburn received a federal grant.
Short and long-term investments for the city had little movement in 2022.
The loan on the Credit Union Spark Centre was included in long-term debt.
Deferred revenue increased by $335,000 due to funding from the Canada Community-Building Fund Program is not received until a project is approved.
For tangible capital assets, the city’s fleet increased by $1.09m, which included purchases of a front-end loader, a pothole patch truck, 5.5-ton trucks, and a maintenance truck and tool cat.
It was noted during council that internal loan advances for utility projects and fleet purchases will continue to be addressed. There is a lot of aging infrastructure in the city that will either require continued maintenance, or will need to be replaced by the city.
It was also noted that as of December 31, 2022, the City of Weyburn had collected the full committed $6,000,000 for the Hospital levy Trust. Construction has now started on the new Weyburn Hospital.
The Audited Financial Statements and Public Accounts will be available at a later date on the City of Weyburn website at www.weyburn.ca/financials.
