Weyburn mayor Marcel Roy is in his third day at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Saskatoon. The convention, which began on Sunday, heard from Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall on Monday. Roy said the message he delivered was not the greatest of news.

“We heard about the climbing deficit that is facing the province of Saskatchewan, and how each and every person, sector and community is going to have to help wrestle the deficit down,” Roy explained in an interview Tuesday morning. The premier explained during his speech the key drivers to the deficit were lower commodity prices, including oil and potash.

Monday also saw the election of a new president for SUMA. Former Lt.-Gov. Gordon Barnhart was elected to the position, which had been held by former Weyburn mayor Debra Button. Barnhart is on the town council in the community of Saltcoats.

The agenda is full for Tuesday at the convention, beginning with a number of breakout sessions, for cities, towns and villages. Roy said he would be looking forward to those, as some of the topics covered will be of key interest for Weyburn. One of those will be how a community can increase its revenues, without having to increase taxes.

Tuesday afternoon, the delegates will vote on a number of resolutions brought forward by various municipalities. The resolutions are then presented to the provincial government for action. Roy stated he would be looking at some key ones which could have an impact on Weyburn.

“Resolutions that we’re looking forward to are water storage requirements, there’s a PST exemption for firefighter equipment that we would like to see brought forward,” Roy listed off in his interview. “Adding fines related to bylaw enforcement to the tax roll.”

There is also a resolution coming forward to look at staggering municipal elections, so that half of the council would be up for election every year. This would prevent situations where an entirely new council is elected, leaving no experienced members on the council, increasing the pressure on the administration of a community.

The convention wraps up Wednesday morning, with the annual bearpit sessions. Members of the provincial cabinet will take questions from the delegates on a wide variety of topics.