Saskatoon business groups express optimism about new city council

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When Saskatoon’s new city council meets for the first time on Wednesday, business groups will be watching.

Newly-elected Mayor Cynthia Block has promised to call a facilitated business group session to work on goals and strategies in her first 100 days on the job.

The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce and the North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA) are waiting to see how the chips fall.

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“Now that the voters have decided and the deck has been shuffled, we have to take a look and see what we’ve been dealt,” Chamber CEO Jason Aebig said.

Chamber members had the opportunity to meet candidates before the election, so they have some insight, but it will be interesting to see if the new council is more or less on the same page on certain issues, he said.

Aebig warned about “leaky bucket syndrome,” where a community attracts new businesses, but struggles to sustain them.

“That doesn’t really produce any economic growth. It looks good, because businesses are opening, but nobody is paying attention to the loss on the other side.”

Members are interested in any initiative that helps grow the commercial tax base, he said, noting that crime and safety have become a hot topic for business owners.

The bottom line is to try to make things attractive and affordable for businesses to set up shop in Saskatoon, Aebig said.

One of the first hurdles council faces will be a mid-year budget review, he added

“I think we should all be quite patient and sympathetic here, because these newly elected members in particular will be handed a four-inch D-ring binder of budget and account information. And they’re going to be required to potentially make some decisions at this mid-cycle period if they feel like budget adjustments are required.”

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Keith Moen, executive director of the NSBA, said any shift in city council is an opportunity for fresh ideas and more potential collaboration.

He said businesses share many of the same concerns as residents, such as vandalism and break-ins.

“They are increasing, and they’re clearly problematic for the business community,” Moen said, adding that the resulting costs are either passed on to business or to their customers.

Taxes and user fees are also a concern for local businesses, he said.

Moen was vocal during last year’s budget talks, saying more could have been cut in order to avoid property tax increases.

“That’s why we’re excited about the new council, because quite frankly we had frustration with the previous council, around budget time especially, because we felt they could have listened a little more intently to some of the things we were saying.”

He wonders whether the new council members will have a full understanding when they tackle the mid-year budget review, calling it an unfair test to be thrown at right off the bat. He said he’s still supportive of council trying to find some cost savings.

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“I guess the saving grace is that it’s a mid-budget review, rather than a full-on budget review and process.”

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