Here is the second and final part of The Reminder’s question-and-answer session with Flin Flon’s city council candidates.
Candidates were limited to 170 words per answer. Answers going over this limit were edited by The Reminder. The Reminder also performed some editing for grammar, punctuation and clarity.
REMINDER: Concern has been expressed over the future of Flin Flon’s recreational facilities unless new funding sources can be secured. Would you vote to close the Whitney Forum, Aqua Centre or Community Hall rather than cut spending elsewhere within city
operations?
TIM BABCOCK: No, I wouldn’t vote to close any facility before looking at ways to cut elsewhere. I have to say that the suggestion that anyone would is a bit offensive.
I’ve sat on the finance committee for four years, and we are constantly looking for ways to save money. There aren’t very many things that make it into the budget unless there is a cost savings or payback involved
somehow.
LESLIE BECK: I did sit on the now-defunct recreation board; I have sat on committees looking at, and raising monies for, new and existing recreational faculties. I understand the concern being raised over the operation and maintenance of our recreational infrastructure. A strong and healthy community needs recreation and the areas you mention are vital to not only Flin Flon, but the area surrounding Flin Flon.
Making a decision of this scope would come from exhausting every avenue available to me if voted onto council. My understanding is that there are some reviews taking place that I support, that may identify areas where monies can be saved in the future.
I support the current mayor and council in that they are working towards not having to shut the doors on anything. In the numerous conversations I have had with people, no one is opposed to supporting these facilities; the question is, “How do we do it fairly?” and I again believe this is done through open communication and partnerships.
TOM DAVIE: I would not vote to cancel any of our recreation facilities. We should look at all other options before this would happen. We just spent over a million for a new town garage facility, not including getting the new facility ready to be operational – what’s the cost of that? If we start eliminating the recreational facilities, how do we attract or maintain our population?
BILL HANSON: Emphatically no; maybe a reduction of hours or something of the like, but all of these facilities are very important to the entire region.
KAREN MacKINNON: We need to continue to work very hard to keep these facilities operating for everyone of all ages in our community and to attract people to live and stay living here. Would it be possible to attract teachers, health care professionals, Hudbay professionals, if we didn’t have these facilities?
Just imagine what life in our northern community would be like without them. What would you do for recreation and entertainment on our cold winter days? Who would train the lifeguards who teach our children how to swim in the many surrounding lakes?
In reality, we need to improve the facilities we have to make them more suitable for our large and growing senior population, and also make them more accessible for people with mobility issues.
As far as cutting spending elsewhere within the city to continue operating these facilities, as I am sure many Flin Flon taxpayers are well aware, this has already been going on for years.
COLLEEN McKEE: The recreational infrastructure in an isolated northern mining municipality is the lifeblood of the community. Quite simply, this is our quality of life. To remain viable, adopting a regional model is in the best interest of not only the municipality, but the entire region.
As for choosing between their viability and spending cuts in other areas, I believe that operating efficiencies should be examined on an ongoing basis. Spending accountability should always be a priority.
KEN PAWLACHUK: We hope to promote our recreation facilities as regional facilities, which means we have to look to our region for support. The choice to cut these facilities will come from the whole region. We have to run the city, but we don’t have to run recreational facilities.
I would hope we could find ways to keep the recreational facilities and run the city. We have put huge capital dollars into our recreational facilities recently, and we still
intend to.
REMINDER: The rising cost of living in Flin Flon, including increasing property taxes, has emerged as a concern for some if not many residents. Do you share this concern? If so, what would you do as a councillor to address this?
TIM BABCOCK: As a taxpayer, of course I share this concern. My taxes have gone up significantly, too. I’m sure people would be thrilled if the newly elected council all promised to not raise taxes during their term. However, that would be irresponsible.
We have taken steps in the last four years to try and level out the tax burden so that a mill rate increase is spread across the board, but more work needs to be done to prevent them from jumping so high all at once.
I’m not afraid to say that for three years, I recommended to council that we increase the mill rate to keep ahead of the curve, but I was outvoted. In year four, after a wicked winter and in anticipation of another, there was no choice but to increase the mill rate, this time
significantly.
LESLIE BECK: The simple answer is yes, because I don’t think I can give you my entire answer in 170 words. I also appreciate that the rising cost of living is hitting everyone, and living in what this province considers north puts our costs even higher. My concern is one of many reasons why I am running for council!
What am I going to do? Get involved, do some research on other like communities and share my insight. If there are better ways of doing businesses, I am going to share my ideas, foster working as a team. Look for expertise that exists to help us plan better. Use the expertise we have to look at things differently. Look at the future as a cup half full and not half empty.
TOM DAVIE: It’s obvious that everyone in town shares this concern, and it comes down to accountability.
Did council know the added cost to the taxpayer on our new water treatment plant prior to start-up? If so, why could we not soften the hardship of the 30% utility increase, for instance, and spread it out over a longer period
of time?
On the fire and police tax, could we not have started at a smaller amount and then increased as the years go by?
These were two big hits our taxpayers took. It is too much for most individuals to adapt to so quickly. If there has to be increases, make them reasonable. Thirty per cent is not reasonable.
BILL HANSON: Flin Flon’s taxes are not the highest in the province but are still very high in comparison to others. As a council we have done more infrastructure renewal and repair in four years than any previous council, not because we necessarily wanted to, but because we had to.
This includes new roofs at the fire hall, community hall and library. With new roofs comes all the infrastructure on those roofs – air, heat and makeup air.
Hopefully in a few years we will be caught up and can focus on other projects. Again, a few taxpayers are paying for a lot of regional facilities. We need to lobby the province and feds for more money when it comes to capital projects on regional
facilities.
KAREN MacKINNON: I watch what is happening in the rest of the country and yes, it is a concern; the cost of living is going up everywhere. But Flin Flon is doing better than other communities.
Examples: for the year ending March 2013, Manitoba residents paid a yearly average of $844 for electricity (national average $1,345). For the same time period, Manitobans paid the lowest average in Canada for automobile insurance, having paid $1,152 (national average $2,098).
My husband and I traveled by road this summer to Nova Scotia, travelling through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and PEI. We checked prices everywhere we went; some higher, some lower, but overall the cost for purchasing goods in Flon Flon was not much different than the rest of the provinces that we traveled through.
Flin Flon should have a minimum property tax, the same as our Saskatchewan neighbours in Creighton. Flin Flon city council, this June brought forward a resolution to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to lobby the Province of Manitoba to do so.
COLLEEN McKEE: As a taxpayer I am very concerned about the cost to live in our community. The bottom line is, we have to look at all facets of the municipality with mainly how we do business. This includes examining and auditing: our operations, human resources and services. Public impact has to be at the forefront when considering all spending or
spending cuts.
Secondly, we have to actively lobby the provincial government on an ongoing basis so they don’t forget who we are when provincial dollars are allocated. This region has contributed to the province generously for many years. Previously, we have been able to man our own ship, but as we downsize it is becoming more difficult to manage without provincial infusion. Provincial accountability comes into play when we are mandated to partake in projects that are unaffordable to the municipality.
Lastly, we need to focus on gradual increases to allow people such as seniors to adjust
accordingly.
KEN PAWLACHUK: I think Flin Flon is still one of the cheaper places to live compared to property values elsewhere. Concerning taxes, our appraisal rates come from the province! We are using creative ways to make taxes in Flin Flon fairer, e.g. amalgamating lots, assessing policing and fire protection per household.
REMINDER: The comment has been made that “Flin Flon must learn to spend like a town rather than a city.” Is this a fair comment?
TIM BABCOCK: No, I don’t believe that this is a fair comment because it suggests that Flin Flon is out of control with spending. A recent report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business ranked Flin Flon No. 1 on their list of Most Reasonable Spenders.
LESLIE BECK: I understand what the person is saying, but that’s difficult when government treats and hands out money like we are a city.
TOM DAVIE: Flin Flon should automatically watch what we spend, as a general practice, whether we are a city or a town. I believe past councillors have put us in a difficult place and we are now forced to act. We need to control spending. Hold people accountable for dollars going out. I believe our city is at a crossroads. We need to be absolutely sure on which road we take in order to survive as a
community.
BILL HANSON: What does that mean, spend like a town rather than a city? Our budget is our budget; the only difference between a town and a city are
the letters of
incorporation.
I would love it if we had enough in our coffers to be able to fund all our own projects. Whether you’re a town or a city, you inherit the costs when you become a councillor. I really don’t believe that the present council spent money foolishly. I believe we have accomplished more and invested in our future wisely, especially in light of the bus garage purchase.
Creighton and Denare Beach have similar problems – not enough provincial and federal funding. When we budget for a project and then in the midst of it find valves or other infrastructure that were great last year but are finished this year, we can’t say to residents, “Sorry, we didn’t budget for that; we will get you water on next budget year.”
KAREN MacKINNON: Whether we’re called a city or town, the expenses would be the same. If Flin Flon was called a town, it would still require clean, safe drinking water, waste removal, snow removal, recreation services, fire and police service, infrastructure and road repairs.
The list goes on and it would not make a difference if we are a town or a city. As far a spending goes, a municipality and its council members should be constantly reviewing where and how taxpayers’ dollars
are spent.
COLLEEN McKEE: The fact is, Flin Flon is still the same size whether we are classified as a city or town. We still have the same distance of infrastructure above and below the ground to maintain, regardless of how many people live here.
Money spent is money spent; the idea is to control the spending. Whether you have to change a length of pipe in a town or city, the costs are similar. In fact, it may cost more in a smaller municipality due to lack of accessibility of resources.
A friend pointed out to me that we have the infrastructure of a city and the tax base closer to that of a town. This is where long-term planning and infrastructure needs prioritization are critical.
KEN PAWLACHUK: I don’t know how there would be a different cost from a city to a town. We still have the same infrastructure designed for 15,000 people to maintain, although we have a smaller population of 5,500. We have regional facilities with huge capital costs that are not financially supported outside the city. Operating costs are different than capital costs.
