Information on what's happening at SUMA and in the municipal field.
October 03, 2017
Last week, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) announced funding for asset management training programs across Canada. Asset Management Saskatchewan is one of the 22 organizations that will receive funding to design and delivery local training to municipalities. Details on training sessions, dates, and locations will come out later this fall; SUMA will share information with members on our website and through Urban Update, so be sure you're signed up to get the latest information.
September 21, 2017
Interest in Citizens on Patrol Programs in Saskatchewan has been growing. Any individual or group can consider establishing a local group. If someone in your municipality is interested in starting a local program, you can check out the documents below, and contact:
Cpl. Mel Zurevinsky
Crime Prevention/ Crime Reduction
Saskatchewan RCMP
Phone: 306-780-3931
Cell: 306-216-8294Pamphlet
Starting a program
Recruitment, meetings, patrol, recognition
Application process
August 24, 2017
On Tuesday, August 22, 2017, the province released the Caucus Committee on Crime report and recommendations to reduce crime in small urban and rural Saskatchewan. SUMA was pleased to be a part of the consultations for the CRC report, and it appears the committee considered our members' concerns.
We applaud the move toward proactive programming, such as mental health and addictions treatment, and school liaison officers. These efforts can help in the long term to reduce crime and improve the quality of life for all Saskatchewan residents.
However, we remain concerned that the re-purposing of ministry-funded positions in municipal police…
August 21, 2017
Yesterday, SUMA kicked off our third Mayors Summer School, the first program of its kind in Canada. Mayors and deputy mayors from more than 40 member municipalities (including President Barnhart) will be on campus at the University of Regina taking in education tailor-made for Saskatchewan mayors. Watch our Twitter feed for sneak peeks at the action, and see the media release for more details on the event.
July 20, 2017
Thank you to the Town of Rosthern for hosting the 29th Annual SUMA Golf Tournament!
It was another great golf tournament starting on Thursday, July 13 with dinner and hypnotist Corrie J. with a DJ to finish off the night. Two communities stepped up to host the 2018 and 2019 golf tournaments: The Town of Hudson Bay invites you to attend the tournament in 2018 and the Town of Spiritwood in 2019. Friday morning started with breakfast, followed by 75 golfers teeing off at Valley Regional Park Golf Course.
Check out the action (including trophy winners) on our Facebook album!
July 14, 2017
The spate of recent bank and credit union closures in hometowns across Saskatchewan is raising concern for both the associations representing municipalities in the province. The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) want to ensure residents have access to banking close to home.
“SUMA believes in the importance of access to financial services for local governments, businesses, and residents in Saskatchewan’s hometowns,” said SUMA President Gordon Barnhart. “While we understand the financial industry needs to adjust to a changing landscape and an increase in online banking, we are concerned about these closures.”
For…
July 13, 2017
SUMAdvantage, our group purchasing program designed to help members save money was created to benefit all SUMA members and support the work SUMA does on behalf of its members. While we encourage inter-municipal cooperation between member municipalities, we want you to know about the many benefits received through utilizing the SUMAdvantage program.
- Your SUMA membership gives you access to SUMAdvantage, with no additional cost. In fact, vendors pay us a marketing fee, which helps support the work SUMA does all year long, on behalf of all our members, and helps keep your membership fees low.
- You get to be involved…
June 26, 2017
Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) President Gordon Barnhart announced today that Laurent Mougeot is stepping down after 12 years as SUMA’s Chief Executive Officer.
Mougeot’s last day will be September 22, 2017. A search for SUMA’s new CEO will start in the coming weeks.
“Laurent has been a strong leader on the local government scene,” said Barnhart. “He has been an invaluable advisor and a good friend to many in the municipal world — in Canada and abroad. A true career civil servant, Laurent has worked with northern communities, rural municipalities, and the entire urban sector. I expect that he…
June 14, 2017
Members passed a resolution at Convention 2017 that urban municipalities take a leadership role in adopting carbon reduction strategies, and a new initative from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Government of Canada can help you make that happen. Your municipality now has the chance to connect with an environmetal expert through FCM's Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP).
Regional climate advisors will support a number of activities, including:
June 05, 2017
Congratulations to Past President Debra Button! She received the Roll of Honour at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) annual conference last week. Past President Button joins more than 100 other recipients over more than 30 years who have a proven record of sustained exceptional service to municipal government in Canada and to the goals and objectives of the FCM, and who have served FCM with distinction.
During her time as Mayor of Weyburn, Debra Button was actively involved with SUMA through the City Mayors’ Caucus; her involvement brought valuable insight to that sector. She was also involved at the federal level…