News Releases

The international rating agency S&P Global (formerly Standard and Poor’s Rating Services) has reconfirmed the City of Saskatoon’s ‘AAA’/Stable credit rating, based on the 2016 financial statements and operating results as well as the current outlook for Saskatoon.

“As a city and community we have worked hard through a slower economy to keep finances in order while building quality of life that continues to attract talent and investment,” says Mayor Charlie Clark. 

“S&P Global’s reconfirmation of our ‘AAA’ credit rating and stable outlook is a testament to the hard work of many people. We will continue to work to build confidence in the future for all residents and our business community,” adds Mayor Clark.

S&P Global expects that the City’s “…creditworthiness will be largely unchanged because the City's budgetary performance will continue to be solid, debt burden will remain much less than 60% of operating revenues, and liquidity will remain healthy.”

The credit rating agency also notes “…that the city will continue to benefit from a supportive institutional framework, sound financial management, and a robust economy.”

“Receiving the ‘AAA’ credit rating provides the City with financial certainty and the budgetary flexibility necessary to maintain and add infrastructure,” says Chief Financial Officer Kerry Tarasoff. “Saskatoon is growing toward half a million people. We remain committed to balancing the City’s future needs with today’s financial realities.”

Every year, S&P Global reviews the City’s finances and delivers a rating in a report based on that study. The City has received the ‘AAA’/Stable credit rating every year for more than a decade allowing the City to borrow money at lower interest rates.

View the full report from S&P Global on saskatoon.ca.

Saskatoon Transit has 15 new buses on the road with the help of the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF). The new buses are included in the total $24 million contribution towards fleet renewal in Saskatoon.

“The focus of our Fleet Renewal Strategy is to improve rider experience while decreasing operating costs," says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit.  “With this funding, we were able to purchase 26 new 40 foot buses over the last 12 months.”

The new 12 metre (40 foot) buses are fully accessible, have automated passenger counters, contain the latest Intelligent Transportation System technology and are more fuel efficient. 

 “Investing in public transit infrastructure shortens commute times, reduces congestion, protects the environment and helps the community access services and job opportunities,” says the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency.  “I’m very pleased that these modern, fuel-efficient buses are hitting the streets in Saskatoon, providing residents with better transit service.”

The buses leave a smaller environmental footprint because of improved emissions, but also because they are paint free.  They also come with lower long term operating costs, due to the use of more durable materials.

“Saskatoon residents will enjoy travelling in these new buses while reducing their environmental footprint,” says the Honourable Larry Doke, Minister of Government Relations.  “Investments like this, which is funded under the PTIF program administered by the Government of Saskatchewan, will improve the quality of life for our citizens for years to come.” 

Upgrading the Saskatoon Transit fleet with new buses instead of 10 year old buses saves approximately $40,000 per year, per bus.  With fleet updates over the last five years, Saskatoon Transit has realized a fuel consumption savings of approximately $165,000 per year (based on today’s fuel prices). 

Over the next 10 years, Saskatoon Transit plans to:

• Ensure every bus is fully accessible (by the end of 2018);
• Reduce its average bus age from 12 to 7 years, which will reduce maintenance costs and fleet size (i.e. fewer “spares” required);
• Offer air conditioning and other improved amenities on every bus;

Saskatoon Transit will also be receiving eight smaller 9 metre (30 foot) buses this year funded by PTIF.  Two will be added to Access Transit’s fleet and the remaining will be used for conventional transit.  

Despite preliminary tests showing the water is clear of contaminates, the Water Security Agency (WSA) Do Not Use Notice for a small number of homes in the Aspen Ridge neighbourhood remains in effect. The WSA issued the Notice on January 10 after hydrocarbons were visually detected in some hydrants within one section of the neighbourhood.

“So far it looks good. The tests we’ve done in homes have come back clear and visual inspections also show no contamination in pipes,” says Angela Gardiner, Acting General Manager of Transportation and Utilities. “However, the Do Not Use Notice has to remain in effect until final testing has been confirmed.”

The City has not yet determined how the hydrocarbons got into the hydrants.

“Right now, we are busy inspecting hydrants and developing a remediation plan,” Gardiner says. “To date, four out of six have been found to be contaminated and five inspections remain.”

The City continues to provide temporary water supplies for drinking, cooking and handwashing until a longer-term solution can be implemented.

“Because water use may be restricted for a few more weeks, the City is exploring the option of establishing temporary shower facilities for affected residents,” she says. “In the meantime, residents may continue to use showers at a City leisure facility at no cost or, we encourage them to reach out to friends and family.”

The Notice affects 19 homes, 10 of which are occupied. The City will continue to take weekly water samples from the occupied homes throughout the investigation.

Today, the City of Saskatoon is starting a public conversation on climate change. A climate action plan is currently under development, which will focus on the actions and investments that are necessary to meet our community’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, as well as examine how taking action on climate change can lead to financial, social, and environmental benefits.

The public is invited to participate in a series of engagement opportunities that will shape how our community addresses and responds to climate change. Community engagement activities will include a series of pop-up discussions, online surveys, focus groups and a workshop. 

“We invite the community to look ahead to 2050 and imagine who we want to be, what kind of world we want to live in, as well as what we need to do today to make that future a reality,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “Community members are invited to get involved in the community discussions and make their own climate action commitments by writing and sharing letters to their future selves, loved ones, or a place they care about.”

To promote engagement activities, the City is launching a campaign entitled ‘Future You Acted on Climate Change Today.’ The campaign features Saskatoon residents telling personal climate change impact stories. The ‘Count Me In!’ portion of the campaign calls upon the community to sign up to commit to climate action and stay updated on upcoming discussions.

 “In June 2017, Council adopted greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets to reduce emissions by 80% below 2014 levels by 2050,” says Councillor Mairin Loewen, council co-lead for the priority area of Environmental Sustainability. “These are ambitious targets, but we know our community has some great ideas on how we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate.”

The City of Saskatoon is committed to taking action on climate change. It is a member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, which is an international alliance of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting action to combat climate change. As part of these commitments, Saskatoon is working to develop and submit a climate action plan by the end of 2018.

Visit www.saskatoon.ca/climatechange to find out more information on climate action planning, upcoming engagement opportunities, and the ‘Count Me In!’ initiative.  

The climate action plan supports the strategic goal of Environmental Leadership, the community and corporate targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2014 levels by 2050, and the strategy of creating new sources of green energy.

Today, the City of Saskatoon provided the second in a series of operational updates on the City’s Plan for Growth projects.  Standing outside a Transit Village Stakeholder Workshop, Mayor Charlie Clark and Director of Planning & Development, Lesley Anderson, emphasized the important role the Plan for Growth is playing in preparing Saskatoon to meet the future needs of a city of 500,000.

“At its core, the City’s Plan for Growth is all about people,” said Mayor Charlie Clark. “The Growth Plan is about making sure that people of all ages and abilities can get to where they need to go, it’s about creating a community that supports a high quality of life for everyone, and it’s about making sure that our growth is smart and sustainable for future generations. This community engagement is important because by having conversations with people who live, work and shop in these areas, we can make sure that the details of the plan work for people now and in the years to come.”

Following their opening comments, Lesley Anderson provided an update on the City’s current Plan for Growth projects which include: a new Transit Plan which calls for the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit and a reconfiguration of existing Saskatoon Transit services, new concept plans for future Transit Village locations, a Corridor Planning Program to drive transit-oriented development, and the development of a Brownfield Renewal Strategy to enhance future corridor growth opportunities.

“We all know Saskatoon is growing fast, our Plan for Growth is our response to that – it forms a new growth model for our City” says Anderson.  “Being prepared for future growth requires us to start city-wide conversations now, which is why Saskatoon’s putting people at the centre of our planning… we’re asking big questions now so that we are able to pursue smart and sustainable growth into the future.”

PROJECT UPDATES

Transit Plan Update (Bus Rapid Transit / Transit Plan Implementation)

Since the approval of the Preferred Configuration by Council on November 20, 2017, the City and HDR Corporation have been hard at work moving the Functional Planning process forward.  An Existing Conditions Report is now complete, and work is well underway on an economic analysis (includes cost-benefit study), functional plan development, station design, park and ride strategy, transit system re-configuration plan.  A critical component of these projects is ongoing engagement with the public and impacted stakeholder groups with numerous opportunities for participants to weigh in on what matters most.

In December, the City and HDR hosted a number of stakeholder engagement activities.  The City received 883 responses to its online survey, over 70 stakeholders attended workshops, and a public open house encouraged participants to ask questions about the Preferred Configuration.  A full version of the Consultation Report: Fall 2017 is available at Saskatoon.ca/engage/transit-plan.

Transit Village Concept Plan Update

In November 2017, DIALOG completed their preliminary site analysis, and background study as well as initial interviews with Commercial Landowners at future Transit Village locations.  On January 17, 2018, the City and DIALOG will use what they heard in November to facilitate a highly collaborative and engaging stakeholder workshop for landowners in order to advance key planning and design elements for each of the Transit Villages locations. Facilitators will work with key landowners to establish a vision for each site, working collaboratively to design preliminary concept plans that recognize the unique potential and context of each site for future density and intensification.

Immediately following the conclusion of the Jan 17 workshop, DIALOG and the City will be taking these preliminary concept plans to Confederation Mall, a future Transit Village location, where the public will be asked to further define what kinds of shops, services, and activities they’d like to see at each of the future Transit Village sites.  This highly-engaging multi-day pop-up workshop is open to the public and will run on January 17th (4 pm – 8:30 pm) and January 18th (10 am – 8 pm).

Corridor Planning Program Update

City Staff continue to advance Phase 1 of the Corridor Planning Program.  This work includes detailed research and analysis along the Bus Rapid Transit Red Line, focusing on identifying land-use and densities as well as parking availability and public realm analysis.  A 3D Model of the BRT Red Line Corridor is nearing completion which will be used to guide future site-level development regulations and guidelines, and further engage with the public.

The Corridor Planning Program is preparing a major engagement opportunity at the upcoming March 7 Plan for Growth Engagement Event at the Western Development Museum from 4:30–8:30PM.  Participants will be invited to stand in our past, and talk about our future.  Without giving away too many surprises, participants will be asked to engage around a very large map of our BRT Red Line Corridor!

Brownfield Renewal Strategy

The City and Dillon continue to plan for soil condition assessment investigative field work that is scheduled to begin at the end of January.  The results of this work will identify the soil quality at proposed future BRT station locations, as well as provide valuable insight on the environmental condition of the soil near Corridor Planning Program potential brownfield areas. Dillon is nearing completion of both its Brownfield Renewal Strategy Research and Recommendation Report as well as an inventory of all Brownfield Sites along the BRT Red Line corridor.

Background:

At its April 25, 2016 meeting, Saskatoon City Council approved in principle the Growth Plan to Half a Million which includes plans for a re-envisioned transit system based around Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and infill at strategic locations in the city including downtown, the university endowment lands and along major transportation corridors.  Following this approval, the City created a Ten Year Action Plan to advance a number of the core initiatives identified in the Growth Plan to Half a Million.

The City and the Government of Canada will share in a total contribution of $7.65 million through the Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund for a number of the Plan for Growth projects including:

• Transit Plan – (includes Bus Rapid Transit and Transit System Plan Implementation)
• Corridor Growth
  • Transit Villages Concept Plans
  • Corridor Planning Program
  • Brownfield Renewal Strategy

For more information / to sign up for project updates please visit saskatoon.ca/growth.  Learn more about engagement opportunities by visiting saskatoon.ca/engage.