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2017 ELECTION PREVIEW
Phil Turnbull
1 Assuming I knew the hosts already, and they were unable to introduce me themselves, I
would politely introduce my wife, Marion and myself to those we did not know. I would first ask them a bit about themselves to get acquainted and when asked about myself, I would say my wife and I have four amazing children, we are proud grandparents, and that I was a General Manager at Canadian Tire in town for over 30 years. I would go on to explain that my passion, however, is the wellbeing of our community, demonstrated through my work with local charities and my previous experience with city council and my run for Mayor in the last election.
2
The energy of the future, wind, solar and geothermal is best used to supplement fossil fuels, and in saying this, I am in favour of pursuing renewable energy. However, we must be cautious and recognize the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine, so we have to acknowledge that fossil fuels still play an important role in our energy supply. We must learn from Ontario that paying very high rates to entice business to build solar and wind farms comes with a high cost and a huge debt — a debt that will be paid for by all taxpayers. In our own province, the present government is offering huge incentives, similar to Ontario. It won’t be long until the rates will become unaffordable. We have our own gas-fired utility, which gives us a great advantage over other cities and for economic development.
Your voice counts. Be heard. October 21, 2013
Your voice counts. Be heard. October 21, 2013
OCTOBER 16, 2017 4 David Leahy Vote
for Catholic School Board on Monday, October 16
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The city of Medicine Hat’s 2016 total expenditures were slightly over $358 million, or $5,693 per every man, woman, child. We can find savings of 1% and save 3.6$ million, which I believe is achievable. The savings could then be used to hold tax increases to the rate of inflation or lower, while improving city services. The prime responsibility of municipal government is to provide citizens with services and infrastructure to improve quality of life, while ensuring it’s efficient and cost effective. As our city grows, so will our service needs. We must learn to be proactive instead of reactive. I believe we can do better, we must do better, and our citizens deserve better.
Change is inevitable. Those who adapt to change continue to flourish, while those who do not oſten struggle. Our city has not done well with change in the last five years, starting with the refusal to accept that shale gas was not a game changer. Shale gas has driven the price of commodity lower than the price of production, resulting in losses at our gas utility and it is now unable to pay our yearly $24 million dividend. Since 2013 to 2017 we will have used approximately $65 million out of reserves to supplement the shortfall. We must get our finances back on track to find those efficient ways to deliver and improve services without increasing taxes 3.5-4 per cent every year for 10 years. Raising taxes and raising fees should not be the first thing we do — it should be the last thing we have to do.
I believe we need a water and sewer agreement with our partners and that the city cannot be boxed in, so we need to ensure we have plans that allow us to annex land for our city to grow. We also need to negotiate the building and management of recreational infrastructure and develop a form of cost sharing for residents outside the city. Finally, I believe we should negotiate for a regional airport to allow a cost sharing agreement to operate the airport. I believe if we negotiate in good faith with our partners we can achieve a fair and suitable agreement.
David LEAHY
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