Heidt of hypocrisy left costly Saskatoon city hall legacy

The apparent re-emergence of former Saskatoon city councillor Myles Heidt on the local political scene makes it time for a refresher course.

“Miles Heidt” is listed in the corporate registration as the sole director for the company Greater Saskatoon Consulting Inc., which is named as the copyright holder for the secretive website A Better YXE, a shadowy campaign promoting change at Saskatoon city hall.

Heidt, who lives at the same Lawson Heights Suburban Centre condominium complex listed in the corporate registry, has failed to respond to requests for comment.

So who is Myles Heidt, and should we be heeding his advice about the future of city hall? Heidt, who considered himself a fiscal hawk, retired in 2012 after 18 years on council.

His Facebook account comments on some of the posts by A Better YXE. One such comment by his account expresses shock at a posted quote by Coun. Cynthia Block that correctly stated the city's 2023 budget was not in a deficit situation. In fact, the city finished 2023 with a surplus.

Heidt's post says: “Unbelievable statement from a city councillor.”

What truly strains believability, however, is that someone who spent 18 years on council appears to lack a basic understanding of city budgeting.

But a closer look reveals the real and expensive legacy of so-called fiscal hawks like Heidt. He was first elected in 1994, when Henry Dayday was mayor. Tax increases were low, in part because the city infrastructure was crumbling, particularly roads. Politicians like Heidt made their names by opposing spending with a skinflint attitude that proved more costly down the road. If you want “unbelievable,” here's a quote from Heidt in 2011 during a council debate on introducing a special levy to improve roads:

“I wish someone would tell me where all these bad streets are,” Heidt said, staking out his opposition to more spending on roads. “I don't think it's time to be pushing the panic button.”

The year after Heidt left city hall, council voted unanimously to introduce a dedicated road-repair levy in response to residents' complaints about the state of city streets. That levy accounted for most of the highest property tax increase this century, a whopping 7.43 per cent.

The state of the city's roads still ranked third in a city hall commissioned survey last spring. Imagine, though, if Heidt's thinking had prevailed: to skimp for short-term political gain and pay much higher costs in the future when pinching pennies becomes untenable.

And it's not like tax hikes were uniformly low when Heidt served on council — except in election years. Council approved increases of 5.44 per cent in 2008 and 4.76 per cent in 2007, still among the highest this century.

In his last year on council, Heidt voted along with his colleagues in favour of a proposal to increase the operating grant for what is now known as the Remai Modern art gallery.

At that point, the cost of the controversial new building had already risen from the original estimate of $55 million to at least $84 million, including the parkade.

But Heidt somehow considered that a bargain, even though the city's contribution had jumped to $34 million over the $26.6 million for a shelved expansion of the Mendel Art Gallery.

“If you look at those numbers I don't know how you wouldn't support it,” Heidt said at a council meeting in March 2012. Later, the cost of the new art gallery ballooned to $111 million (including $58.6 million from the city) because enthusiastic hawks like Heidt failed to establish fiscal guardrails.

And, unlike some of the quotes posted on A Better YXE, Heidt's comments here are not taken out of context.

Saskatoon voters mostly see beyond the scam of the fiscal hawks, likely because anyone who owns a home or a vehicle knows that being cheap now can cost more in the future.

Mayor Charlie Clark, who refused to pledge low tax hikes, outpolled the combined votes in 2020 of his two main challengers, former mayor Don Atchison and Rob Norris, both of whom were proposing minimal tax increases.

If taxes are too high, blame self-serving cheapskates like Heidt. And, given the apparent hard feelings out there, maybe A Bitter YXE is a better name.