Pledge Shortfalls Coming Up on Monday Evening

Close to a million dollars of uncollectable pledges to the then Multiplex Project is coming up at Monday evening’s Council Meeting

When it comes to the pledges made for what was then called the Multiplex - later called the Downtown Facility and Fieldhouse (DFFH) - it appears the amounts pledged are a lot more than what is ever going to be received or that is what Moose Jaw City Council is set to discover on Monday night.

In a written response to questions from Councillor Brian Swanson into how much in pledges have been collected and how much is still outstanding a written response will reveal approximately 15 percent of the pledges have not been collected and just over a million dollars in pledges have been written off.

According to a report to Councillor’s questions a total of $8,569,644 has been collected so far with $1,530,355.90 still uncollected.

The written reponse also includes the admission only the pledge from the Moose Jaw Warriors is enforcable and the the remainder of all other pledges are not collectible according to a report from the City’s auditor Deloitte LLP.

As part of the Deloitte LLP report it was also further revealed $1,079,405.90 was written off in 2015 as uncollectible although since that time $149,050 has been collected.

A pledge from Moose Jaw Soccer is highlighted in the response to Councillor Swanson with the group not honouring their original pledge of $30,000 annually over 25 years for a total of $750,000.

“The City received five years of this pledge for a total of $150,000. In 2016 the City received $7,550 and $6,500 in 2017 with no funds being received in 2018. The total received is $164,050,” the report states.

Despite there apparently being no legal obligation for Moose Jaw Soccer to honour their pledge the group is set to sit down with the City in the near future to discuss it, the written response states, although the amount expected to be pledged will be less than what was initially promised.