(File Photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Debt limit increase

City of Melfort debt limit increased by $4 million

Apr 9, 2024 | 11:00 AM

The City of Melfort has approved a request for a debt increase.

Council signed off on the request to increase the debt limit from $8 million to $12 million at Monday night’s meeting.

City Manager Adam Homes told northeastNOW that the Saskatchewan Municipal Board sets debt limits in Saskatchewan. There used to be an automatic review of debt limits every three years but that is no longer the case.

“Now it’s up to the cities to make applications to increase their debt limit, and the last time we did that was in 2010,” Homes said. “Our debt limit is really low.”

Homes said Melfort is facing several large capital projects that will require borrowing, including the decommissioning of their landfill. The current landfill is closing, and a new engineered landfill will be built that will meet environmental standards.

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“It’s just best practice to ensure that our debt limit is kept at a current level that’s appropriate.”

He said the onus is up to the city to ensure those debt limits are set and at the proper level. In other provinces, the increases are automatically set based on revenues.

The landfill isn’t the only project that could require some borrowing from the city. The Northern Lights Palace is over 30 years old and needs significant upgrades and repairs.

“Anywhere between 15 to 20 million dollars worth of upgrades and refurbishments are needed for that facility,” Homes said. “That is one of our large-scale capital projects, we also have a treated water reservoirs that need replacement.”

Council also approved an amended policy outlining the hours of work at City Hall.

The new policy states that city hall “shall be open to the public Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, inclusive of the noon hour.”

The City of Melfort and CUPE Local 777 Collective Bargaining Agreement that was approved in February establishes the hours of work for City Hall staff from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The change will take effect May 1.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK