2011 December MUNICIPALITIES TODAY

NEW WEST PARTNERSHIP

The New Year will bring in equal access to public-sector business in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan through the New West Partnership. 

Beginning on July 1, 2012 suppliers from all three provinces will have equal access to Saskatchewan public-sector tenders, including tenders from municipalities. Municipalities are required to post tenders online at http://www.sasktenders.ca/ for goods and services tenders over $75,000 and construction tenders over $200,000. This has changed from the previous thresholds under the Agreement on Internal Trade. Likewise, suppliers from BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan will be able to access to these tenders. Suppliers from all three provinces can access tenders with the same thresholds in Alberta at http://www.puchasingconnection.ca/ and in British Columbia at http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca/.

In 2010, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia signed the New West Partnership, creating a combined economy worth about $500 billion and a market of more than nine million people. The partnership increases market access including the opening of the public-sector tendering process, reducing red tape by streamlining regulations and improving mobility for professionals and trades people within the three provinces.

For more information about the New West Partnership go to http://www.newwestpartnership.ca/.

For specific government procurement questions e-mail purchasing@gs.gov.sk.ca.

CHANGES TO THE GRAVEL EXTRACTION LICENCE MAXIMUM FEE RATES

Effective January 1, 2012 municipalities may increase 2012 and 2013 gravel extraction licence fee rates to a maximum of:

• $0.149 per cubic metre
• $0.113 per cubic yard
• $0.080 per tonne
• $0.074 per ton

For further information please refer to Bulletin #38 or contact a Municipal Advisor at (306) 787-2680.

IS YOUR MUNICIPALITY AWESOME?! INNOVATIVE?! EXCELLENT?!

If you answered yes then consider submitting an entry to the Saskatchewan Municipal Awards. The Awards celebrate the excellent and innovative practices of Saskatchewan's municipal governments.

Nominations for the 2012 awards are now open. You have until March 21, 2012 to submit your nomination. The process is simple and your municipality could be seven questions away from being recognized on the provincial stage at the Awards Luncheon scheduled for Friday, May 11, 2012.

The Nomination Form is available on the Municipal Awards website along with submission guidelines and a full list of award categories including a new category Community Life Enrichment.

Visit http://www.municipalawards.ca/ to learn more and celebrate excellence in your municipality.

UPDATED MUNICIPAL SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT

Local officials have the best knowledge of their municipalities and therefore are in the best position to assess their own sustainability. With that in mind, the Ministry, in collaboration with sector partners, launched the Municipal Government Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool in September of 2011. 

This interactive tool allows municipalities to evaluate the strengths of their municipal performance by answering questions related to their municipality. Based on the self-assessment results, municipalities are able to identify strengths as well as areas where there are opportunities for improvements.

To help municipalities improve their results, a Sustainability Toolkit was developed. The Sustainability Toolkit provides municipalities with links to information and resources to help deal with concerns across the eight core areas of municipal responsibility: Governance, Administration, Finance and Financial Management, Service Delivery, Public Safety, Infrastructure, Demographics and Economic Trends, and Partnerships. The Sustainability Toolkit has recently been updated to provide additional information to municipalities that have identified areas for improvement and wish to strengthen their sustainability.  

The Toolkit can be accessed on the Ministry's website at www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/MGSST-Toolkit.

UPDATED MUNICIPAL INFORMATION DATAPORTAL (MID)

The Municipal Information Dataportal (MID), launched in 2009, offers a range of municipal information related to Saskatchewan municipalities in a central location and supports business needs and decision-making with respect to municipalities. MID currently offers existing information of interest to municipalities across 13 broad categories and new content has been added. 

New content available from MID includes: 

• Accountability - SaskMuniMaps has been updated with 2009 data.
• Asset Management - Information about Saskatchewan's Northern Municipal Asset Management Project, as well as information about asset management condition assessment techniques and condition grading standards has been added.
• Community Development and Growth - A provincial housing initiatives section has been added, as well as updated maps of municipalities with community plans and zoning bylaws.
• Municipal Sustainability - The Municipal Government Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool, user guide, tutorial and testimonial videos, and the Sustainability Toolkit are new additions.
• Property Assessment and Taxation - 2010 mill rate survey results and information on municipal potash tax sharing have been added.
• Utility and Waste Information - The data and map of average residential water and sewer costs in Saskatchewan communities is updated as of August 31, 2011. 

Visit the Municipal Information Dataportal at www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/MID.

Municipal Affairs is interested in hearing about other web links or information related to Saskatchewan municipalities that could be added to MID. Anyone with comments or suggestions for additions is encouraged to contact us at muninfo@gov.sk.ca.