Candidate Questions - Steven White

1.  In 2023, for several reasons, a secondary audit was requested of SAMA.  SAMA declined this request.  Currently the City and council have chosen to do nothing in regards to this issue.

What are you prepared to do?

The SAMA issue is a huge one. Anyone with any real estate background can see that something doesn’t add up. I have never seen Assessed Values come in higher than Appraised values, nor have I seen 50% jumps in value at the same time others dropped the same. That would be the equivalent of one area winning the lottery while at the same time an explosion destroyed the neighborhood next door and still assuming one had no effect on the other. As I stated previously, I would start by examining the credentials of those making these assessments as well as going line by line through their departments to see how they come up with these numbers. I would also suggest putting a hold on any further assessments made by SAMA until they can supply this information. In addition, no one wins 100% of the time. The fact that no one has won a case against them leads to other suspicious behavior.

2. Saskatoon has a Governance Committee which oversees their property tax/assessment department, and theirs far exceeds ours.  Are you prepared to implement the changes needed in order to mirror/reflect theirs? Or something better?

2. Too often we simply point to another city in the province and say, “Well this is what PA, Saskatoon, or Regina is doing”. It’s time we sat down and figured out what is best for Moose Jaw. We need to take back control of the governance and we need to act quickly. I would suggest a meeting with local property appraisers to assist in reviewing the current structure and come up with a plan to overhaul it. No one knows the market here better than the professionals we already have in town. Why not use their resources.

3. a). In your words, What does a Moose Jaw Citizen say when they are asked “What do you think of Moose Jaw?”

Sadly, most businesses in town have told me that if they could sell or move their business today, they would leave town tomorrow. In addition, people are concerned with the safety of their employees and customers. Many have talked about attracting new businesses and residents, but we should be focusing on how we even keep the ones we have. Random tax valuations, horrible red tape to even start a project, poor communications and yes, the roads. None of these issues attract anyone to come here nor want to come back once they have seen our town. It’s time we cleaned house and put our city back on the right track.

b). If you are elected, what will the Citizens be saying in 4 years?

4 years from now, the city will be more optimistic, safer, and cleaner. Businesses will no longer be waiting for 2 months just to receive a response to an email. Residents will not be made to feel a burden when stopping by city hall to pay a bill or ask for assistance. Most importantly, they will once again be proud to call this city their home.

4. Right now, there is a lot of talk about a proposed hotel on the zero block of River Street West. Rumours which include the potential building of a parkade by the city in the area.

The question is as an elected official how much City money - if any - are you prepared to spend either directly or indirectly in an effort to see the proposed hotel development get off the ground?

4. There are always rumors about what is coming to Moose Jaw. Most get scared off. (IE K+S, CP, Distilleries, etc.)  While the new Holiday Inn has helped alleviate some of the the need when we host hockey, volleyball and other sporting events, we still have a shortage of rooms, and some get rooms in Regina instead because we don’t have enough here. In addition, parking is an issue despite what the current administration has said on numerous occasions. Our job as a city should be to provide such projects with adequate infrastructure to not only develop such amenities, but to also allow for expansion in the future. The amount of funds spent by the city should depend on the size of the project as well as the benefits to its citizens. So to give an exact amount would be extremely difficult without all the information. Would I be willing to spend, absolutely but in a responsible way.

5. Are you in favour of more or less funding by the way of levies? Or do you favour finding more funding by the way of tax increases?

I favor one tax rate rather than levies however I do recognize the value of levies in funding specific initiatives but feel these levies, while starting out as temporary, often end up hanging around much longer than initially planned.

I favor neither levies nor tax increases. You can raise revenue by lowering taxes to attract jobs, citizens and events, which all create revenue for the city. You can also create funds by becoming more efficient in managing expenses and not wasting dollars by repeating projects over and over and fixing them right the first time. The way you fund projects can also increase revenues by investing wisely. For example, the bonds that we floated for the water mains are all lower in value than when we issued them. We can now buy them back cheaper than we sold them, which means the projects will cost us less than anticipated, and we can use those funds for other badly needed projects. Something I suggested to the previous administration from the beginning.

6. In your own words what is the most important infrastructure projection that needs to be completed.

The Crescent View Wastewater Lift Station has to be #1 on the list. While the city has talked about the dump for the last 8 years and done nothing, the city could shut down tomorrow if it fails and has been out of compliance for years already. How they could allow this to happen is beyond me.

Where or how would you locate funding for this project?

a. While it would have been more advantageous to float bonds for this project while they were 0.25% interest, that still maybe the easiest way to fund it with the declining interest rate environment we currently sit in. We may also be able to shift some of the savings from our old bonds toward this project.

7. Affordability is a major concern for many residents.

Are you prepared - yes or no - to strive to make Moose Jaw more affordable?

Affordability depends on supply and demand. Rent rates have skyrocketed in the past few years and need to be addressed from the supply side. To make it more attractive for people to build here, we need to first address the red tape and service issues holding builders back. Tax incentives may be an option, but I would prefer to make our system more attractive to start with so that they don’t become necessary in the first place. I have spoken to numerous contractors that have given up on dealing with the city because of the poor service and lack of continuity. The city will tell you one property is available one day, then it isn’t the next and then a week later it is again. In addition, try to even get a set price on properties. That is like a real estate agent listing a property without a price.

How well do you think that works out?