News Releases

The City is currently investigating an appropriate Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) for Saskatoon. The AMI technology would allow the City to implement the use of smart meters which can measure and record actual power and water usage by time intervals throughout the day, and transmit that data wirelessly over a secure network to a central data management system.

In October 2013 a consultant was hired to determine the feasibility and cost of an AMI system for Saskatoon. Now the City is asking for feedback from residents through a series of public information sessions.

The Open House events will be held:

February 11, 2014 – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Cliff Wright Branch Auditorium at Lakewood Civic Centre (1635 McKercher Drive)

February 12, 2014 – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Mount Royal Collegiate Cafeteria (2220 Rusholme Road)

The following information will be provided at the Open House events:

• How Smart Meters Work
• Benefits of Smart Meters
• It’s Your Health (Information on Radio Frequency) – Health Canada
• The City’s Meter Exchange Program
• Meter Display – Old Versus New
• Smart Meter Billing
• Tips to Reduce Outdoor Water Use, Indoor Water Use and Electricity Use

Residents unable to attend the Open House events can also provide their feedback using the City’s new online engagement tool, Shaping Saskatoon, located at www.shapingsaskatoon.ca.

To sign up, click on the Shaping Saskatoon link on the City’s homepage, and enter your email address and demographic information. Residents can sign up from a home computer, or anywhere that’s convenient on a mobile device.

The Smart Meters project will be available for comment on Shaping Saskatoon starting today until the end of February.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

 
The City of Saskatoon is proposing to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Martensville to negotiate an agreement to provide both water and  waste water services.

“This is a key step towards a regional planning approach for land use and servicing,” says Randy Grauer, Community Services Department General Manager.  “It’ll also help the City of Martensville to continue playing an important role in the growth and development of the Saskatoon Region.”

A report to City Council will be on its Agenda, which will be public information later this afternoon.

Martensville will soon reach its lagoon capacity and it approached the City to consider allowing a connection to Saskatoon’s existing Waste Water Treatment Plant.

“Basically, it’s an agreement to agree,” Grauer says and it sets out the regional planning goals of the City and Martensville, as well as creating an outline for a more detailed formal agreement on water and waste water services.

The MOU would be in effect until the City of Martensville reaches 20,000 people at which point it would be renegotiated.

“Saskatoon residents will not be subsidising those in Martensville,” Grauer says.  “We’re proposing the rates will be negotiated on the basis of Martensville customers paying a premium on top of what Saskatoon users pay.  The premium will be based on industry rate models and reviewed every three years.”

The cities would agree to work together on several points including:

• A regional plan including Martensville’s future land use plans.
• Explore tap water delivery opportunities
• A plan to fairly share the costs of developing new and upgrades to existing waste water and water infrastructure
• Cost estimates for sanitary sewer infrastructure including a lift station, a force main, an odour abatement structure, and a gravity pipe.

“The City is aware of odours near the Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Construction of a new odour abatement system is in the works and connecting Martensville would help pay for that project,” Grauer says.

City Council will consider the Administration report at its meeting, Monday, February 10, 2014.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

The City of Saskatoon (City) has once again been awarded as one of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers for 2014!  This achievement is highlighted in a magazine supplement in today’s Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post.

The City applied for the competition last year and the winners were selected according to a number of factors including: physical workplace, workplace atmosphere, benefits, vacation and time off, employee communications, performance management, training and skills development, and community involvement.

“While I am proud of our past accomplishments, I am very excited about our future.  We have a new vision for our great city and a strategy and workforce plan on how we will achieve this vision,” City Manager Murray Totland says. “Our staff is well prepared to face the changes of our rapidly growing community.  Without their dedication and hard work, we would not be a top employer.”

To again be recognized as one of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers for 2014 is a welcomed achievement for the City.  The City continues to promote forward-thinking and the use of innovative ways to increase employee satisfaction and engagement levels, all part of dedication to its corporate Strategic Goal of building a culture of continuous improvement.

The City of Saskatoon employs over 4,000 people and offers a broad range of career opportunities, a workplace that prides itself as an employer where employees can “Build a Career – and Shape a City.”

“This is our third year of recognition as one of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers.  I am proud to say the City has built a reputation as a great place to work and build a career,” Employment & Total Compensation Manager Mubarka Butt says.  “We were pleased this year to include our employee testimonials and their career paths at the City as part of our application,” Butt says.  “You know you are doing something right as an employer when your employees want to tell others about why they love working for the City!”

“To continue to build a stimulating and supportive work environment for our employees, we have aligned our workplace structure to enhance employee engagement.  This will ensure we have the absolute best chance to be successful in meeting our corporate Strategic Goals,” Butt says.

“The City is excelling in many areas because of our employees and the positive attitude they bring to work every day.  Our employees continue to make Saskatoon an even greater place to live – a 21^st Century City and a real ‘can do’ organization we can all be proud of,” Totland says.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon

on Twitter and Facebook.

 

The City of Saskatoon is pleased to announce the launch of the Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon website at www.growingfwd.ca. 

“Growing Forward! is an exciting initiative that will take us from vision to action - on how we grow to half a million people,” says Alan Wallace, Director of Planning and Development.  “The Growing Forward! website is mobile-friendly and is the first step to providing ample opportunities for people to have their say about their future.”

Change is inevitable and how the City manages that change is important.  Growing Forward!  Shaping Saskatoon is a wide-reaching public planning exercise.  It will help guide civic investments to accommodate Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people within the next 30 to 40 years. 

“The input we get from the website will be incorporated into the City’s Growth Plan to Half a Million,” Wallace says.  “We hope this framework will allow us to make changes in our community in a way that will keep Saskatoon a prosperous and great place to live for all citizens.”

Growing Forward! will build on a strong foundation of past achievements and public input.  It will look at ways to improve how we move around Saskatoon while making sure growth within the City remains sustainable.  This project will address three key elements:

• Shaping Growth;
• Shaping Transit; and
• Shaping Bridges.

A public event will be held on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, at TCU Place to start the discussion about future options for transit, bridges, and how to shape Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people.

For more information on Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon, please visit www.growingfwd.ca.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

"CONTINUING STRONG ECONOMY”: ‘AAA’/STABLE CREDIT RATING AGAIN

For another year, the City of Saskatoon has earned the highest possible rating from international bond rating agency, Standard & Poor’s; S&P today reaffirmed its ‘AAA’/stable credit rating for Saskatoon - one of the hottest Canadian economies.

“Standard and Poor’s assessment again sends the message that the City’s budget process and resource allocation is open, accountable and transparent, and that Saskatoon has an economy that will keep our growth on track,” says His Worship Mayor Donald Atchison.

Every year Standard & Poor’s reviews the City’s finances and delivers the credit rating and supporting rationale in a report based on that study.

“This is exactly what we work toward every day,” says Acting Chief Financial Officer Kerry Tarasoff. “Saskatoon continues to be headed into healthy economic times, and S&P’s rating underlines that position.”

As it did last year, Standard & Poor’s continues to view the financial outlook for Saskatoon as stable. The agency is confident that cash flow and cash investments will increase to offset any rising debt. In other words, Saskatoon’s leading economy is expected to keep growing.

“Saskatoon's economic fundamentals are very strong, in our view” the report says. “We think Saskatoon is managing its growth well, and we expect this will continue.”

The City of Saskatoon demonstrates strong and prudent financial policies and solid management, and these have a positive impact on the credit profile. The City has received the ‘AAA’/stable credit rating every year for more than a decade.

Receiving a ‘AAA’ credit rating essentially means that the City of Saskatoon can borrow money at lower rates, and is viewed by financial institutions as having virtually no-risk with respect to defaulting on credit. The City of Saskatoon’s favorable budget performance, as well as its self-generated revenues, continue to place the City in a strong and stable financial position, supporting the City’s Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability.

 For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases,  Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.