News profile1. What are your thoughts on city ownership of Saamis Solar, and what direction would you want to see council take with ownership of renewables?
On paper this seems like a good idea to consider. That being said I would have many questions that would need to be answered before making a decision. What are the benefits for this investment? What are the risks for the City of Medicine Hat? What are the annual costs to maintain and lifespan of these panels? How are these costs going to be paid for? Is there any impact to residents this project could pose? All renewable projects should go through a comprehensive review with questions like these and others answered to ensure we have all the information to make a decision that benefits our City and its residents.
2. What are your thoughts on the future of the energy division, specifically the concept of turning it into a municipally controlled corporation?
I have been trying to get answers to how this will add value from what we are doing now. This is not only an expensive proposal on upfront costs but ongoing costs into the future. If I am being asked to invest in this with tax payers money I need to know there is a value added result to this proposal. I have a number of concerns and I am curious if there are other options that are less expensive that will provide the same outcome. All I have heard is we need industry experts to bounce ideas off of to ensure we are going in the right direction. Do we not have any industry experts on staff today? I would need more detailed information on the terms of forming this MCC. The transferring of assets to the MCC while the City assumes all the debt is also concerning and I would need more information on how this would work.
3. How would you look to balance taxation with the operation costs of running a city, as well as the services provided to residents?
We need to adopt a philosophy of Needs vs Wants when it comes to services and operational costs to ensure we are looking after those needs first before committing funds to wants. Accurate strategic 5 year budgets with 5%, 10%, and 15% reductions need to be created to provide us options in times of uncertainty and also provide a road map of what assets and infrastructure needs to be upgraded and or replaced so we can ensure funds are ear marked for these projects. This also provides us options we can consider if obstacles like the economy change. Once this has been completed we can evaluate whether funds are available for wants that improve our community. Tax increases should be capped at no more than the cost of inflation and using reserves is only done when it provides a benefit rather than a last resort for funding. Investment in our reserves should happen annually with surplus funds and interest should be used to help fund projects defined in our 5 year budgets.
4. How would you approach economic development and any need to incentivize business to come to Medicine Hat?
With solid infrastructure, strong amenities and good financial position this will help promote Medicine Hat as an option for business to locate to and invest in. Our position of owning our own Utilities with the benefit of having lower than market prices for these utilities can also be used to attract business. I would like to get back to mandating we are best in class in areas such as reliability when it comes to Electric. Industry and business place a high need to have reliable power with minimal outages for their operations. Incentives are a consideration but come at an immediate cost and I feel any incentive should come with a compromise of some sort on behalf of the business. We need to get creative when negotiating with business that provides a win-win outcome for both the City and the business. It would show commitment from the City to the business but also show a commitment from the business to the City and help build a more vibrant community for our residents and their employees.
