News Releases

For Release: September 26, 2014

Before the City began negotiations on a new pension deal, the 2012 funding status of the General Pension Plan showed an approximate $68M deficiency or deficit; that has now been eliminated following changes to the Plan enacted by City Council Monday September 22, 2014.

“If the City had done nothing, a 2012 valuation would have been filed showing a $68M deficit and taxpayers would have been responsible for paying it off,” says Marno McInnes, Director of Human Resources.

“We would have had to make special payments that would have been in the neighbourhood of $9M every year; that’s a lot of paved road, repaired water mains and leisure programming that wouldn’t be done – just dollars out the door.”

However, with much hard work and with everyone all working together at the same table, the City and eight of the nine unions in the Plan agreed with the changes.  The deficit reduced to approximately $6.7M, which remained as a result of the Transit union rejecting the changes and opting instead to push for the unaffordable old plan for its members.

“Now, because Council passed the bylaw Monday and everyone – including the Transit union – is under the new pension plan deal, there no longer is any deficit in the plan for the 2012 valuation,” McInnes says.

As part of the City of Saskatoon’s 2014 Road Preservation and Rehabilitation Program crews have begun microsurfacing 65 lane kilometres of roadway, mostly on residential streets.

Microsurfacing, also known as seal coating, adds a thin protective layer of asphalt blended with finely crushed stone to the surface. This provides an extra layer of wear, seals the underlying asphalt and extends the life of the roadway.

“Similar to sealing your deck, microsurfacing or seal coating creates a protective layer which preserves the underlying structure and prevents the need for more expensive repairs in the future,” says Chris Hallam Director of Construction and Design. “This is a preventative treatment applied to roads that are structurally sound and in fair condition to improve minor defects and to seal and protect the roadway until an asphalt resurfacing treatment is feasible or required.”

When first applied, the microsurfacing has a rough and grainy texture and is brownish in colour. However, within a short period of time, as vehicles drive on the road it quickly wears smooth and the colour fades to blend with the existing roadway.

“We have received a few concerns from citizens about the look and apparent quality of the road treatment when it is first applied; while we recognize it is not as aesthetically pleasing as new asphalt, it is the most cost-effective way to preserve the roads,” says Hallam. “Regular preventative maintenance is key to maintaining the road network into the future.”

While the work is carried out the road is closed for approximately 24 hours. The program is expected to be complete mid-October, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances. Residents along a road receiving this preventative treatment will be notified with a letter before the work begins.

For up-to-date information on these and other road restrictions, use our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map at Saskatoon.ca/go/maps or click on Building Better Roads at saskatoon.ca.

Overall, the City has completed 75 per cent of the 2014 Road Rehabilitation and Preservation Program to date.

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.

NEW
8TH ST EB CURB LANE CLOSED FROM CIRCLE D TO MALL ENTRANCE
(Light pole work)
Start: September 26, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 1:00 p.m.
ONGOING
CENTRAL AVE NB CLOSED FROM 110TH ST W TO GRAY AVE
(Phase 3: Streetscaping)
NB traffic accommodated in SB lanes. SB traffic detoured via Egbert Ave & Bryans Ave  
Start: September 23, 7:00 a.m. End: October 5, 6:00 p.m.
11TH ST W CLOSED FROM HIGHWAY 7 TO CHAPPELL DR
(Patch paving)
Sections of the road will be closed for patch paving. Access to businesses will be maintained.
Start: September 23, 9:00 a.m. End: October 14, 6:00 p.m.
TAYLOR ST E CLOSED FROM MUNROE AVE S TO MCKINNON AVE S
(Water Main Lining)
Start: September 8, 8:00 a.m. End: October 8, 7:00 p.m.

IDYLWYLD DR SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM 25TH ST TO 24TH ST
(Streetscaping)
Right turn from 25th St EB to Idylwyld Dr SB maintained
Start: September 2, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.

33RD ST W EB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE Y N TO AVE W N
(Water main lining)
Two-way traffic accommodated in WB lanes
Start: August 22, 10:30 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.

AIRPORT DR NB LANES CLOSED FROM GATEWAY BLVD TO THE AIRPORT
(Roadway improvements)
Two-way traffic accommodated in SB lanes. 45th St W closed from Airport Dr to Koyl Ave
Start: August 20, 1:00 p.m. End: October 29, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

NEW
2ND AVE SB CLOSED FROM 24TH ST TO 23RD ST
(SL&P vault work)
Start: September 25, 9:00 a.m. End: September 25, 12:00 p.m.

24TH ST EB CURB LANE FROM 4TH AVE TO 5TH AVE (Sidewalk Replacement)
Start: September 25, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.

ONGOING

CENTRAL AVE NB FROM 110TH ST W TO GRAY AVE
(Phase 3: Streetscaping)
NB traffic accommodated in SB lanes. SB traffic detoured via Egbert Ave & Bryans Ave  
Start: September 23, 7:00 a.m. End: October 5, 6:00 p.m.
11TH ST W CLOSED FROM HIGHWAY 7 TO CHAPPELL DR
(Patch paving)
Sections of the road will be closed for patch paving. Access to businesses will be maintained.
Start: September 23, 9:00 a.m. End: October 14, 6:00 p.m.
IDYLWYLD DR SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM 25TH ST TO 24TH ST
(Streetscaping)
Right turn from 25th St EB to Idylwyld Dr SB maintained
Start: September 2, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.

33RD ST W EB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE Y N TO AVE W N
(Water main lining)
Two-way traffic accommodated in WB lanes
Start: August 22, 10:30 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.

AIRPORT DR NB LANES CLOSED ON FROM GATEWAY BLVD TO THE AIRPORT
(Roadway improvements)
Two-way traffic accommodated in SB lanes. 45th St W closed from Airport Dr to Koyl Ave
Start: August 20, 1:00 p.m. End: October 29, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

NEW
CIRCLE DR EB RAMP TO WARMAN RD SB CLOSED
(Road Repair)
Use Quebec Ave
Start: September 24, 9:00 a.m. End: September 24, 5:00 p.m.
24TH ST E EB LANE CLOSED FROM 4TH AVE N TO 5TH AVE N
(Sidewalk Repair)
Start: September 24, 9:00 a.m. End: September 25, 6:00 p.m.
23RD ST E BOTH LANES CLOSED FROM 4TH AVE N TO 5TH AVE N
(Connection Repair)
Start: September 24, 9:00 a.m. End: September 24, 6:00 p.m.
OVERNIGHT: CIRCLE DR E SB CURB LANE FROM ATTRIDGE DR TO COLLEGE DR
(Road paving)
Start: September 24, 7:00 p.m. End: September 25, 7:00 a.m.
ONGOING

CENTRAL AVE NB CLOSED FROM 110TH ST W TO GRAY AVE
(Phase 3: Streetscaping)
NB traffic accommodated in SB lanes. SB traffic detoured via Egbert Ave & Bryans Ave. 115th St & Egbert Ave 3-way stop.
Start: September 23, 7:00 a.m. End: October 5, 6:00 p.m.

11TH ST W CLOSED FROM HIGHWAY 7 TO CHAPPELL DR
(Patch paving)
Sections of the road will be closed for patch paving. Access to businesses will be maintained.
Start: September 23, 9:00 a.m. End: October 14, 6:00 p.m.

SPADINA CRES E CLOSED FROM 21ST ST E TO 20TH ST E
(Storm Sewer Installation)
Start: September 22, 7:30 a.m. End: September 23, 6:00 p.m.
20TH ST W EB & WB CURB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE E S TO AVE F S
(Streetscaping)
Start: September 16, 9:00 a.m. End: September 23, 6:00 p.m.
TAYLOR ST E EB&WB FROM MUNROE AVE S TO MCKINNON AVE S
(Water Main Lining)
Start: September 8, 8:00 a.m. End: October 8, 7:00 p.m.

IDYLWYLD DR SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM 25TH ST TO 24TH ST
(Streetscaping)
Right turn from 25th St EB to Idylwyld Dr SB maintained
Start: September 2, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.
33RD ST W EB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE Y N TO AVE W N
(Water main lining)
Two-way traffic set in WB lanes
Start: August 22, 10:30 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.
AIRPORT DR NB LANES CLOSED ON FROM GATEWAY BLVD TO THE AIRPORT
(Roadway improvements)
Two-way traffic accommodated in the SB lanes. 45th St W closed from Airport Dr to Koyl Ave
Start: August 20, 1:00 p.m. End: October 29, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

Transit operations have been cancelled and no regular buses are running. We are hopeful that the current situation is short-term and will be resolved soon.

We recognize the labour disruption is an inconvenience for our transit customers.  As a result, the City will be providing refunds/extensions to all pass holders, including Upass and EcoPass customers. 

We are currently developing a plan for effectively and efficiently managing refunds/extensions for the large number of pass holders; each type of pass has unique requirements. 

We will provide the public with more information on the plans for refunds/extensions early next week.

As an essential service, Access Transit is not affected by this labour disruption.  Access Transit passes are available for sale and customers can book and ride as normal.

Thank you for your patience.

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.

For Release: September 22, 2014 

Our citizens have been hearing commentary that the City misled them about the $6.7M General Pension Plan deficit.

Based on a snippet of information it made public, the Transit union today is calling for a “third party review” of whether the Plan has such a deficit.

That process already occurs under provincial law:

- The City of Saskatoon has no role in preparing or approving the valuation process; rather the City relies on the expert advice of the Plan actuaries – experts who analyze the health of pension plans.

- The General Pension Plan is administered by a separate Board of Trustees which includes individuals appointed by the City, employee/union representatives and one independent member.  The Board’s role includes choosing the Plan actuary.

- There is a “triple check” involved in the valuation process all of which was followed:

1. The Board of Trustees retained the professional actuarial expertise of AON Hewitt who prepared the 2012 valuation.  The actuarial profession is much like the audit profession, or many professions, where they have a set of 'standard practices' and ethical considerations to follow when they value a plan.  They must certify it and sign a declaration that it is a fair representation of the plan status and is based on accepted and realistic assumptions.

- This is the first check of a third-party review.

2. Once submitted by the actuary to the Board, the Board is in a position of trust and must fully consider the valuation and the assumptions it is based on and approve it.

- This is the second check of a third-party review.

3. Following that, the actuary is instructed to submit, or file, the valuation with the provincial government regulator, the Superintendent of Pensions, who also reviews and determines the acceptability of the valuation. 

- This is the third check of a third-party review.

There is only one plan valuation of consequence and of record that the City of Saskatoon must pay attention to and that is the one prepared and filed to the provincial regulator under the requirements of the Pension Benefits Act.

The City did not prepare the valuation or approve it.  According to the law, we are required to respond to it.  However, in this case the City and taxpayer are 100 per cent responsible for the deficit.

The matter of the credibility of the valuation is not what is up for debate.  It has clearly been accepted.  In fact, the valuation formed the basis of the agreement to fix the pension plan every other union has agreed to except for the Transit union.

The Transit union shares no risk in funding the deficit, just the taxpayer. 

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.

For Release: September 22, 2014

Due to uncertainty surrounding City finances and the future of the General Pension Plan, at a special meeting City Council today approved necessary changes to the Plan.

The changes mean employees and the City will each contribute more to the Plan to ensure it lasts well into the future.

There are nine unions which participate in the General Pension Plan; eight have already reached agreements with the City while the Amalgamated Transit Union, 615 (ATU) has not.

“We have a responsibility to the other eight unions and nearly twenty-two hundred employees who have signed onto the new plan,” Director of Human Resources Marno McInnes says. 

“We have promised City employees that the plan will be there when they need it and City Council has kept that promise.”

The Plan valuation was not up for debate.  The Plan deficit has already been triple checked and verified by a third party review – required under provincial law.  This analysis had been accepted by the City and its unions.  In fact, the valuation formed the basis of the agreement to fix the pension plan every other union has agreed to except for the Transit union.

Saskatoon Transit operations remain suspended following a Saturday lockout of the Transit union.  This, after the union demanded in last-minute bargaining talks a 22% wage increase over five years.

“The pension issue has been settled and the Transit union’s latest wage proposal is not fair to the eight other civic unions which settled for 10 per cent,” McInnes says.  “We hope the Transit union can find a way back to the negotiating table so that our transit operations can return to normal.”

Previously, the City and the Transit union had been at an impasse on the union’s portion of the City’s General Pension Plan which was valued with a $6.7 million deficit.

The issue became an urgent business matter for City Council. The provincial government regulator – The Superintendent of Pensions – last week issued a letter to the City directing the City to pay $90,100 per month starting at January 1, 2014. 

The changes will pay-off the deficit by increasing the contributions of both employees and the City.  The changes will also create a 10% cushion in the fund to absorb any future volatility in the financial markets.

“If Council did not take this bold step, every month that went by without a contract would have cost taxpayers $90 thousand, or just over $1 million per year,” McInnes says.

NEW
CENTRAL AVE NB CLOSED FROM 110TH ST W TO GRAY AVE
(Phase 3: Streetscaping)
NB traffic accommodated in SB lanes. SB traffic detoured via Egbert Ave & Bryans Ave
Start: September 23, 7:00 a.m. End: October 5, 6:00 p.m.

11TH ST W CLOSED FROM HIGHWAY 7 TO CHAPPELL DR
(Patch paving)
Sections of the road will be closed for patch paving. Access to businesses will be maintained.
Start: September 23, 9:00 a.m. End: October 14, 6:00 p.m.

OVERNIGHT: CIRCLE DR E SB CURB LANE CLOSED FROM PRESTON AVE EXIT TO COLLEGE DR
(Road Paving)
To minimize disruption to traffic this work will be carried out at night only 
Start: September 23, 7:00 p.m. End: September 24, 7:00 a.m.
ONGOING
SPADINA CRES E CLOSED FROM 21ST ST E TO 20TH ST E
(Storm Sewer Installation)
Start: September 22, 7:30 a.m. End: September 23, 6:00 p.m.
20TH ST W EB & WB CURB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE E S TO AVE F S
(Streetscaping)
Start: September 16, 9:00 a.m. End: September 23, 6:00 p.m.
TAYLOR ST E EB&WB FROM MUNROE AVE S TO MCKINNON AVE S
(Water Main Lining)
Start: September 8, 8:00 a.m. End: October 8, 7:00 p.m.

IDYLWYLD DR SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM 25TH ST TO 24TH ST
(Streetscaping)
Right turn from 25th St EB to Idylwyld Dr SB maintained
Start: September 2, 9:00 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.
33RD ST W EB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE Y N TO AVE W N
(Water main lining)
Two-way traffic set in WB lanes
Start: August 22, 10:30 a.m. End: September 26, 6:00 p.m.
AIRPORT DR NB LANES CLOSED ON FROM GATEWAY BLVD TO THE AIRPORT
(Roadway improvements)
Two-way traffic accommodated in the SB lanes. 45th St W closed from Airport Dr to Koyl Ave
Start: August 20, 1:00 p.m. End: October 29, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

 

After hearing the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board would not order an end to the Transit lockout at this time, the City has invited the Transit Union to resume bargaining talks. Director of Human Resources Marno McInnes has been in contact with the Transit union executive.

“We have not changed our commitment to resolving this labour dispute and returning bus service to our customers”, says Marno McInnes, Director of Human Resources.

“We’ve invited the Transit Union to resume the bargaining process. We’re ready on a moment's notice to sit down and bargain."

We are eager to get service running again and back to the business of Transit. But a 22% pay increase is not a reasonable position; we simply cannot defend this to taxpayers. We want to find a solution.

The City has offered the same four year wage increase of 10% to the Transit Union as it has offered to all other unions and associations that participate in the City’s General Pension Plan.

In the hearing, the City Solicitor said that Saskatoon City Council enacted changes to the Pension Plan on Monday, September 22 at approximately 1:30 p.m.

The Labour Relations Board ruled that the City of Saskatoon is to make no further changes to the Pension Plan as of 2:30 p.m. today. The City will comply with the Labour Relations Board order.

 “We are ready to talk and continue to make ourselves available,” McInnes says.

“I hope the Transit Union can find a way back to the negotiating table so that our transit operations can return to normal,” McInnes says. “We want to get buses back on the street and we want all of our City employees working to provide our citizens with the services they need.”

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.