It’s all about the money

By Collin Gallant on October 27, 2018.

It doesn’t seem to have captured the public’s attention the way changes to the dog park have, but the revelation of a looming $33-million cash loss for the city’s petroleum production unit is still hanging out there for the public to digest.

It first came up in the News when the city’s thrice-yearly financial report was presented to committee, and was softened when the same document reported power plant profits will top $50 million this year.

That was also the message at council when the matter arrived there Oct. 15, with councillors drawing a direct line between the two and noting the net is about $17 million profit.

It’s all about accounting, which usually sends readers off to dreamland, but the main hitch with the calculation is that profits from one don’t cover the other.

This was vaguely eluded to by Couns. Phil Turnbull and Darren Hirsch, whose brief comments noted the city’s three-year-old dividend policy may need to be updated.

It states profits from individual business units be used not to stabilize another, but rather be split between the city’s heritage savings fund and a tax stabilization fund needed to enact the 10-year financially fit program.

As it is, a power plant bonanza would mean about $22 million to each of those reserve funds.

The loss at the gas company will be covered by the gas depletion fund, which afterwards would hold about $19 million — or about one-10th what the fund held in 2011.

Also, the current amount would only cover about sixth months of operations in 2019 if the trend continues.

Sounds like the dividend discussion needs to happen fairly soon.

Big money

The Associated Press reports that spending in the rapidly concluding Montana Senate election has topped US$60 million. Putting that in perspective, that’s one contest in one state, which happens to have a population of 1 million people, about the same as Saskatchewan.

More perspective, new laws in Alberta would limit spending to $1.6 million per party per election period. That’s about one-10th what’s been spent in support of incumbent Democrat John Tester, who is being outspent three to one by action committees boosting Republican challenger Matt Rosendale.

Quick ones

— The mystery of why an NBC Sports television production truck was spotted heading through the Hat several weeks ago, has been solved.

The U.S.-based broadcaster plans to have more Canadian NHL teams on its broadcast schedule this year. The Flames, who had no games last year, will have two, the Oilers seven, and even the talented but geographically remote Winnipeg Jets will play a half dozen games before a U.S. network audience this season.

— Following a departure noted last week, Lorelle Halderman takes over as the marketing and sales manager at the Canalta Centre.

— The Amalgamated Transit Union made mention recently of a former Greyhound employee weekend reunion in Kelowna this coming May. The service ends operations in Western Canada on Wednesday, and a similar reunion for the Prairies region seems like something that would be right up Medicine Hat’s alley.

A look ahead

The fifth week of October shows no city committee meetings on tap, but the Alberta Legislature resumes sitting on Monday with the fall session.

100 years ago

City council was forced to rescind its previous vote in favour of abolishing the ward system in Medicine Hat in favour of aldermen elected at-large by residents, the News reported on Oct. 24, 1919.

The crucial point missed in the previously passed plan, was that an act of province was required to increase the number of aldermen to eight from five. With only weeks until annual municipal elections, many hoped it would be dealt with in 1919.

Residents of Norwood petitioned council to request the province extend telephone lines southward in the city. Residents felt it was unreasonable that in case of fire they were required to walk north past the Shannon Bridge to contact the fire brigade.

Mrs. Muriel Jones, a mother of five, was one of the first confirmed fatal victims of the Spanish influenza in Medicine Hat. Provincial health officers reported they had confirmed 1,053 cases in the province. By edict, all travellers on CPR trains would be required to wear masks.

Reports from Europe stated the German troops were evacuating Brussels.