News

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 SUMA (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…

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…

SUMA (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…

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…

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…

As part of a very busy week, SUMA staff and Board members are in Saskatoon for the annual stand-alone sector meeting. This year, towns and villages were both invited to attend, and we're happy to see more than 100 attendees join us from 55 member municipalities. More details on the meeting are available in the media release and on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

The Municipal Leadership Development Program (MLDP) is accepting requests for proposals to facilitate two of the MLDP modules: Asset Management for Municipalities Strategic and Financial Planning for Municipalities The MLDP is a series of workshops developed exclusively for elected and appointed municipal leaders in Saskatchewan. If you or anyone you know is interested in facilitating one…

The days since the March 22 release of the provincial budget have been busy for SUMA. The best place to find the latest details on how the 2017-18 budget hurts hometowns is on the hub page we created specifically for this issue. There you will find our communication with members, media releases, links to our social media accounts, what our members and the media are saying, and resources that will…

Yesterday, the Government of Saskatchewan released its latest budget. Among other things, the budget held the line on municipal revenue sharing, raised the provincial sales tax percentage and removed exemptions, cut provincial funding for libraries and urban parks, and will move to cut the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) and shift payments from Crown corporations to the provincial…

This week, the Estevan Mercury published an editorial defending the current revenue sharing forumula. You can read the full editorial on their website.

Project plans for 2016 show the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) supported 120 local roads and bridges projects in Saskatchewan's urban municipalities. On behalf of members, SUMA expressed gratitude today for the "predictable, long-term, indexed funding" our members receive thanks to the GTF. SUMA thanks the Government of Canada for their commitment to Saskatchewan hometowns. More…

SUMA is excited to partner with our friends at SARM and the Southeast College to offer Municipal Management Essentials training to members. This training is intended to supplement training available through the Municipal Leadership Development Program (MLDP) and help municipalities build skills and capacity for administrative staff and foremen (though council members are welcome to…

The Crime Reduction Committee was struck recently to examine crime in Saskatchewan. Their goal is "to determine where provincial policies are effective in reducing and eliminating crime, and what best-practices can be used to reduce it in other areas." The committee will be touring the province to receive input from organizations, individuals and communities (see the schedule…

The Government of Saskatchewan is now accepting applications for infrastructure projects through two funding programs: the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund (CWWF), and the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) of the New Building Canada Fund. You can use the same online form to apply to both programs, but previous PTIC applications will need to be resubmitted. The form and more…

Randy Goulden has be elected Interim President by the Board of Directors to serve until the end Convention 2017. Rounding out the Executive Committee is:  VP of Cities: Bob Maloney; VP of Towns: Rodger Hayward; Interim VP of Villages, Resort Villages, and Northern Municipalities: Mike Strachan; and  Saskatoon/Regina Executive Member: Mike O'Donnell.  The single-city…