NEWS FILE PHOTO Coun. Phil Turnbull speaks at a city council meeting in July 2018.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Phil Turnbull is the first in Medicine Hat to declare he will seek to win a council seat next October, four days after the race officially started.
New local election laws allow candidates to submit paperwork on Jan. 1, rather than a nomination day closer to the Election Day, this year on Oct. 18.
Turnbull, who is serving his second term as a city council member, told the News on Tuesday that he hasn’t officially filed his nomination form, but has become the first person to declare his or her intentions.
“I’m letting people know,” he said, noting that he doesn’t expect any active campaigning until at least late summer. “I’ll probably be self-financed (in the campaign). I’ve got the signs already, and will have to get ‘re-elect’ slapped on them.”
“But I’m talking to people about it.”
Turnbull rejoined council in late 2017 as a councillor after placing second in the 2013 mayoral race following an initial term as alderman.
At that point, said Turnbull, he was prepared to serve just one more term, but now sees positive momentum toward filling a structural budget deficit without major tax increases.
Last month, budget amendments planned to cut $14 million in municipal spending while installing a two-year tax rate freeze at 2019 levels.
“I would like to finish what we’ve started,” said Turnbull, referring to a Financially Fit budget model that will require an additional $8 million in cuts and new revenue in 2022 to avoid a tax increase.
At that point, however, the city budget would balance without a gas dividend or reserve spending.
“I ran on getting the city’s financial house in order and reducing costs, and we’ve done that without lower service levels and have been smart about it,” he said. “There are still a lot of things to do; aging infrastructure in rec facilities and renewing parks. Once we’re on a strong financial base again, we would begin to start doing those things.”
He chairs council’s standing committee for energy and utilities committee.
The gas production unit is currently closing down or abandoning about 2,000 of its unprofitable wells in a $135 million reclamation program. That comes after loses in the tens of millions of dollars annually as low natural gas prices persist.
“It’s an accomplishment, but one we wish we hadn’t had to do,” said Turnbull. “There was really no choice. And there’s still five to seven years of costs that are a burden, but we won’t be bleeding $38 million (per year in operating loss).”
The division has also recently moved forward with the construction of the Unit 17 power-plant, effectively doubling the size of the north-end power production facility.
He said that will be a great economic attraction along with a newly reorganized Invest Medicine Hat economic development unit at city hall.
