Right in the centre - Surveying the scene

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Published on Thursday, December 14, 2017

Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press

The Town of Neepawa is conducting a survey about the upcoming budget. They did it last year as well and it’s a good thing. Having served on Neepawa council twice and having attended countless council, community and committee meetings over decades of time, I can appreciate why the council is doing the survey. In one way or another, councils in all towns and RMs conduct surveys one on one or in the coffee shop or in this case with an actual survey. 

The aim is to outline the income the council has to work with and what services are needed and what improvements can be affordable. Many voters are willing to accuse local politicians of having a lack of vision and also the usual accusation that tax dollars are being wasted. Both accusations may be true at times but every four years peoples’ feelings about vision and taxes bump against the harsh reality. Come election time, are there enough good candidates coming forward to fill the seats? In some communities, there are barely enough people to fill the seats. In the case of Neepawa, the council was last elected by acclamation. In North-Cypress Langford there wasn’t enough candidates and appointments were made.

So what is our problem anyway? Basically, it is this. People tend to know what needs to be done in a general sense. They know we need to plow and gravel the roads, treat the water, keep the sewers running and keep the lights on at the town or municipal office. We have to upkeep the cemeteries and fix the potholes. Most people get that. The problem is that they hope someone else will do the job so they don’t have to. How often do you hear, “Someone should…..”. That is the problem. Who is the someone and who will pay the bill? We all hope the someone isn’t us and that someone else will pay the bill. 

There is another aspect to town and municipal governing and financing that isn’t mentioned above. Here is a little bit of information that many people don’t know. Unlike most other towns, Neepawa spends very little on recreation and almost nothing on tourism. If my memory serves me correctly, Neepawa spends more money on their cemetery than they do on recreation. Most towns own most or all of the recreation facilities. Neepawa doesn’t own a community hall, it is owned by the community-owned corporation commonly known as the Yellowhead Centre. Officially it is Neepawa and District Centennial Project Inc. but in common terms, the Yellowhead. The Town of Neepawa doesn’t own an arena, again that is YHC. The town only puts $85,000 into the YHC which is a fraction of the cost in comparable communities. The T of N doesn’t own a golf course or a curling rink. Again community corporations own those facilities. The town doesn’t own the ball diamonds or the Ag Complex and grounds. The town does own the flats (outdoor rink, soccer fields and walking trails) as well as the pool and campgrounds. All in all, the Town of Neepawa council has it pretty good when it comes to recreation as compared to other towns, they don’t have to put much money into recreation and they don’t.

The survey being conducted by the Town of Neepawa is simply asking the questions in a formal way that get asked informally everywhere else, namely, what do taxpayers want and how much do you want to spend to get what you want?

In the bluntest of terms, Neepawa has not spent (or borrowed) as much as they should have over the years and are now decades behind in many areas. Catching up in housing, infrastructure and public works is a massive task. In the next few months, Neepawa, and every other community, has to come up with ideas, money and perhaps most of all, councillors. Finding people with the time, the skill and most of all the willingness is the biggest challenge facing our communities.