The City of Warman, Town of Osler and RM of Corman Park are among six area communities receiving grants under the provincial Targeted Sector Support (TSS) Initiative.
On Tuesday, August 11, Government Relations Minister Lori Carr announced the first intake of municipal projects under the TSS Initiative, which are approved to receive more than $1.18 million of provincial support.
Following a thorough application review process, a total of 33 projects were approved by the TSS Steering Committee, which is composed of members representing the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), the Saskatchewan Association of Northern Communities (New North), and the Ministry of Government Relations.
Examples of some of the projects include training to enhance the skills of municipal administrators, developing regional emergency plans, completing a joint parks and recreation plan, improving asset management and strengthening collaboration among communities.
“Once completed, these projects will contribute to a stronger Saskatchewan and improve quality of life,” Carr said. “Municipalities will build upon their existing administrative capacities to serve their citizens even better. As well, communities working together in key areas of interest can help resources go farther and strengthen relationships between local governments. Thank you to all of the community and municipal sector leaders who helped make this initiative a reality and to members of the steering committee for their ongoing work.”
Under the TSS Initiative, the City of Warman will receive $15,000 for a public engagement program.
The RM of Corman Park will receive $75,000 for development of its South East Concept Plan.
The Town of Osler will receive 7,500 for its P4G Strategic Plan Facilitation.
The Village of Borden will receive $41,763 for its Asset Management program.
The RM of Great Bend will receive $15,000 for training sessions for elected and administrative officials.
The RM of Montrose will receive $10,000 for its Regional Emergency Measures Organization plan.
“New North is proud to play a role in this initiative by working with other municipal organizations and the provincial government on this steering committee as we work together to advance projects that will contribute to better communities,” New North Chairperson Bruce Fidler said.
“SARM promotes inter-municipal cooperation and building capacity to aid in effective local government,” SARM President Ray Orb said. “We are encouraged by the TSS funding and believe the projects funded will benefit rural Saskatchewan.”
“From regional planning to joint bylaw operations, our hometowns are working together to provide the best quality of life to residents,” SUMA President Gordon Barnhart said. “Funding through the TSS Initiative furthers joint municipal projects that foster inter-community cooperation, and, in the long-term, improve the sustainability of our hometowns.”
Provincial funding is from the previous fiscal year and will cover up to 75 per cent of each of the projects on the attached backgrounder. The funding is administered by SUMA on behalf of the TSS Steering Committee. SUMA is in the process of finalizing funding agreements with successful applicants.
Another $186,000 of TSS funding will further support:
• The development of an online training program for Saskatchewan Board of Revision members.
• A labour market assessment for a potential municipal administrator program.
• The online conversion of the Community and Land-use Planning module of the Municipal Leadership Development Program.
• A pilot project to mentor administrators proposed by the Rural Municipal Administrators’ Association in partnership with SARM.
The TSS Initiative was established following a review of the 2018-19 Municipal Revenue Sharing program, with input from the municipal sector. The TSS Initiative provides cost-shared grants to recipients and their community and municipal partners. The goal of the program is to help municipalities improve local governance, encourage more regional cooperation and build upon existing capacity.
Projects are funded under one of the following streams: dispute resolution and relationship building; capacity building; regional cooperation; and municipal transition. A second project intake will occur in 2021.