The choice before Flin Flon voters became clearer last week as mayoral candidates George Fontaine and Cal Huntley shared their plans for the future of the community.
Fontaine and Huntley participated in a candidates’ forum broadcast on 102.9 CFAR last Thursday, Oct. 9. The third challenger, Robin James, could not attend.
Fontaine, the incumbent mayor, and Huntley, a former city councillor, spoke on topics ranging from cottagers and taxes to seniors housing and infrastructure.
“To me it’s as simple as this: if you’re looking for a change and a different approach, please vote for me,” said Huntley. “If you’re happy with the direction we’re presently headed, please vote for George.”
For his part, Fontaine said he thinks he has “been appreciated for doing a pretty good job, so I hope to continue doing it” for the next four years.
“We’ve taken certain directions and made hard decisions, and I hope that the people who look at it decide that’s what [they] want,” said Fontaine. “Or in fact if that’s not what you want, then of course…vote the other way.”
The moderator, CFAR’s Joe McCormick, asked the candidates how they might convince surrounding communities and residents to financially support Flin Flon-funded amenities used regionally, including recreational facilities.
Fontaine said the “logical way” is to approach the different parties and “indicate that we are having a problem in more people using than are paying” for those services.
The city has tried doing that “in a very open and gentlemanly fashion,” Fontaine said, but among area cottagers there are “a vocal few who are making it difficult to negotiate a settlement that is going to be suitable for us with respect to recreation.”
Fontaine said the city has an “open dialogue” with cottagers and has also held meetings around financial partnerships with Creighton and Denare Beach. Those talks are on hold until after the election, he said.
For his part, Huntley said this matter comes down to “building strong relationships” with neighbouring stakeholders.
Huntley said he expects the end result of negotiations to be a “mixed bag.” He said the city must be open to “different solutions for different venues,” as a deal with Creighton may differ from a deal with cottagers.
“There has to be something in it for them so they play the game as well,” said Huntley.
Huntley added that he believes there is “a contribution to be had” from cottagers, who do “want to contribute.” He said he thinks the issue “will resolve itself fairly quickly in the new term.”
Still on the issue of cottagers, Huntley advocated an approach in which the city and cottagers together lobby the Manitoba government to have cottage fees now paid to the province instead go to
the city.
Fontaine said many cottagers have asked him why some of their provincial fees can’t go to the city instead, an idea that suits him just fine.
But Fontaine said it is “sad” that the province is “not showing any leadership” on the cottage issue.
A follow-up question asked candidates about services the city would have to offer cabin owners in the event Flin Flon annexes cottage country.
Fontaine said although the city would have no legal obligation to offer services, “if we get to that point” council “would have to decide what it is we were going to provide and what we weren’t.”
After the topic of the cottagers’ newest sewage lagoon came up, Fontaine said there had been an opportunity for cabin owners to utilize the city’s sewage treatment plant as an alternative.
While a deal never materialized, Fontaine said the city is still open to that concept.
Huntley agreed the treatment plant should replace the lagoon, adding perhaps such an agreement could still be reached.
In terms of an overall deal, there is a need for the city and cottagers to sit down and work on a deal with “give and take on both sides,” Huntley added.
On the issue of seniors housing, Huntley said the city must “up our presence with regards to the provincial government” because it doesn’t have enough money of its own to proceed with such a project.
Huntley said many Flin Flon seniors are moving to the Saskatchewan side of the border, which has “no problem” getting seniors housing.
Fontaine said he has “been told very clearly” that Flin Flon has seniors housing on the way, but the province seems more interested in “a timeline to get themselves re-elected” than in making prompt announcements.
It’s now up to the province to make its move, Fontaine said, given that both the government and a grant-seeking private individual are both proposing housing projects.
As for property taxes, Huntley corrected the moderator by pointing out that an increased property assessment need not mean an automatic tax hike.
“When you have a significant increase in assessed housing value, [the city has] the ability to adjust the mill rate to mitigate what might be an unreasonable increase,” said Huntley.
Fontaine said it’s true the province controls assessments and the city decides the mill rate, but sometimes the mill rate must be set before the assessments are known.
“That’s where the hard part is,” added Fontaine.
Regarding infrastructure repairs and upgrades, Fontaine said the city has been avoiding a “patch and run system” and is doing a good job in making sure the infrastructure will last in the long term.
Fontaine said maintaining infrastructure will mean tax increases as the city is not trying to cut any services.
“But what we want to do is control things and not go wild with our increases,” Fontaine said. “We would try and maintain them at a level that people can afford.”
In his response, Huntley said the city must ensure “every dollar spent is spent as effectively as possible so when we do work, we do it properly and we move onto the next job.”
The more this can be done, Huntley said, the more money can go into infrastructure projects that have been pre-planned rather than putting “out fires as they happen.”
Huntley said infrastructure work may entail tax increases, but “we need to mitigate the increases” by spending in an efficient manner.
Asked how the candidates would decide spending priorities, Huntley said council must work from a budget and have a “good grasp” of the community so expenditures can be properly prioritized.
No matter who becomes mayor, Huntley said, priority will placed on maintaining existing services, though perhaps this could be done “more creatively than we have in the past.”
Fontaine said the city is trying to keep all existing services despite the difficulties ensuing from a reduced population.
“We won’t close anything if we don’t have to,” Fontaine said, adding the city is always looking for efficiencies.
Costly spending mandates from the Manitoba government factored into the debate, with Fontaine saying the city has told the province it cannot afford certain orders impacting the Flin Flon landfill.
Fontaine also spoke on changes the city made to its water treatment plant so the facility would have abilities beyond water treatment and save taxpayers money in the long term.
For his part, Huntley said he didn’t believe Flin Flon needed a water treatment plant. The project was mandated by the province because Flin Flon water no longer met health standards.
Huntley stressed the city must have the ability to refuse government mandates, adding no one on council felt they had this capability during his time as a councillor.
Asked about his priorities for the next four years, Huntley listed off “fiscal responsibility, appropriate renewal of the utilities infrastructure, and the relationship piece with regards to neighbouring communities and stakeholders and the provincial and federal government.”
Huntley said he wants “to present a better picture of our community, a more positive picture of our community, a more attractive picture of our community.”
In his reply, Fontaine said he also wants improved relationships “provided the relationships are not based on everything coming from us and going to someone else.”
Fontaine advocated an infrastructure plan in which “we’re catching up to the past but not jumping so far ahead that we’re paying for our grandchildren.”
Fontaine spoke also of the need to keep costs low, keep as many services as possible and continue dialogue with surrounding stakeholders to help maintain services.
At one point the moderator asked whether there is flexibility for the city to obtain additional funding from Hudbay, which pays an annual grant to the municipality in lieu of property taxes.
Fontaine said he would be “very careful with that one” as Hudbay provides 30 per cent of the city’s funding and has been a “very good” corporate citizen.
Huntley said he thinks both sides are “quite happy with the agreements that we have in place” as well as the open line of communication that exists.
