City tells province to ban all public gatherings
The City of Saskatoon is urging the Saskatchewan government to ban all public gatherings while preparing to “collapse” around its most essential services in the face of a growing number of COVID -19 cases and a new provincial state of emergency.
“What we do in the next 24 to 48 hours will determine the longterm outcome for our city,” Pamela Goulden-mcleod, the city’s director of emergency management, told reporters on a conference call hours after Premier Scott Moe activated emergency measures.
Those measures have allowed the provincial government to ban all gatherings larger than 50 people, but Goulden-mcleod said the city is “imploring” Moe’s government to prohibit all public meetings of any size, saying at this point safety is the major consideration.
“This is a defining moment of our lifetime,” she said.
The provincial government has ordered bars, gyms and other facilities to close, but restaurants can remain open at 50 per cent capacity. Grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations are also exempted from the order, though “social distancing” must occur.
Speaking from self-isolation after returning from abroad, city manager Jeff Jorgenson told reporters the city is also preparing to collapse in on its most essential functions such as water, power, policing and firefighting. The city is a “long ways” from any restriction on services such as water, he said.
“Our goal is to make sure the city is in a position where we never have to consider restrictions,”
Jorgenson added.
Saskatoon city council is expected to debate a set of emergency measures at a special meeting scheduled for noon on Thursday, shortly after all civic facilities — including city hall — are closed to the public. The meeting is expected to be conducted via telephone.
Mayor Charlie Clark said the proposed measures include not disrupting utility accounts in arrears and suspending collections until Sept. 30, allowing people to pay their property taxes up to three months late without penalties, and deferring payment for lead water line replacement until 2021.
“We are rising to the challenge together,” Clark said, adding that the city needs to ensure it has sufficient revenue to avoid challenges down the line — a suggestion that people who can pay their utility bills should continue doing so.
The federal government rolled out an $82-billion aid package on Wednesday, while the provincial government earlier this week drafted, passed and signed into law amendments to the employment act making access to unpaid sick leave earlier.
Between operating and capital expenditures, the City of Saskatoon’s annual budget is a little over $1.1 billion. Last year, the city collected $254.8 million in taxes and another $439.9 million in user fees, a category that includes utility payments and various other fees paid by people using civic services.
The total cost of the pandemic is completely unknown, but it is likely to be unprecedented — and under current legislation, Saskatchewan municipalities are not allowed to run deficit budgets.
Clark said more information is expected in the coming days.