Housing and hospital funding were a few of the issues discussed at the recent SUMA (Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association) Convention in Saskatoon.
City Manager Bob Smith and Councillor Nancy Styles attended the conference which wrapped up on February 2.
Smith said that during the conference a resolution was made to move towards 100 percent hospital funding by the province. Right now, communities must pay for 35 percent of the cost to construct a new hospital.
"The Minister of Health indicated that there should be a local flavour to it and it should be up to the community to raise funds for their hospital, but maybe it should be moved from 35 percent to 20 percent," said Smith.
Smith said this resolution has positive implications for Weyburn, as the community is currently looking to replace its 50-year-old acute care hospital, under the auspices of the Weyburn & District Hospital Foundation.
Smith said that the government's Saskatchewan Housing Plan was discussed at the conference, which is said to be out by June. The government will begin gathering information from municipalities in April and Smith believes that the City will have a great deal of input for the plan.
"We will certainly be involved in the discussion stage," said Smith. "The City is ahead of the curve on this one. We took the initiative almost a year ago to establish an ad-hoc advisory committee on housing."
The City initiated a housing needs and demands assessment in November by the Canadian Home Builders Association, which will be done in March.
During the conference, municipalities learned that they would receive an operating grant increase of $300,000 from the province. Smith said this works out to a 2.5 percent increase for the city.
