By Charlene Tebbutt

Support for gaming events

Municipalities willing to gamble on new fundraising ideas

Feb 7, 2019 | 5:00 PM

It’s an interesting idea and one municipal representatives across Saskatchewan are endorsing as a means of generating new money for much-needed local projects.

Delegates at the annual Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities convention in Saskatoon this week threw their support behind the idea of using gaming events to raise money for infrastructure projects and help offset costs. The motion passed, giving SUMA the go-ahead to begin lobbying the province to change the rules around gambling.

Currently, Saskatchewan villages, towns and cities are not allowed to host gaming events, such as bingos, 50-50 draws or poker tournaments, as a way to generate revenue.

Leanne McCormick, chief administrative officer with the Village of Marcelin, said the idea is definitely one they would jump on if the rules were to change. With approximately 150 people living in Marcelin, McCormick said it can be tough to find new money.

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“It’s another avenue to look at, instead of having to raise taxes every time,” McCormick said. “It would be nice if there was extra coin, or extra fundraisers or other ways of getting it.”

McCormick said the village is currently looking at a bill of about $12,000 to fund a pilot project looking at ways to remove ammonia from the water supply.

“If it works, I’m not even too sure what the amount would be, but probably be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade our water treatment plant facility to make our water better for our residents,” McCormick added.

Over in Meath Park, Mayor Michael Hydamacka said gaming events could be a great way to lessen the blow to taxpayers when infrastructure needs to be upgraded. Hydamacka said the small community is also in need of infrastructure funding to upgrade its water distribution system.

“We could use as much revenue as we can without hurting the taxpayers so that would be a great way to add extra revenue,” Hydamacka added. “Water main breaks are increasing for us as the infrastructure ages so we’re currently looking at replacing portions of it.”

The Town of Gravelbourg brought forward the resolution to allow municipalities to capitalize on gaming events. Licenses for such events are managed by the province through the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

A spokesperson for SLGA said the rules only allow for local charitable groups to use gaming events to raise funds in support of municipal facilities and projects. Municipal governments are not considered to be charitable groups.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt