(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Rural politics

Candle Lake mayor responds to recent dismissals, discusses future plans

Sep 2, 2021 | 12:00 PM

The Mayor of the Resort Village (R.V.) of Candle Lake says he cannot elaborate on personnel issues, nor does he feel it’s appropriate to do so.

Terry Kostyna was contacted by paNOW to discuss the recent dismissal of both the chief administrative officer and the maintenance manager.

Their dismissals were effective Aug. 26, and a statement issued by the R.V. on Tuesday mentioned council believed a change in leadership was “necessary.” No other details were given.

“I can tell you that council has been active in the last year working on reviewing and strengthening our governance and operational procedures, and to put systems and processes in places to improve our service delivery for everyone in our community,” Kostyna said.

Future plans

Found urn

P.A. Police searching for owner of found urn

18h ago

A long time coming

Max Clunie Field, Harry Jerome Track re-open with ceremony following lengthy renovations

Oct 11, 2024

Honouring greats

Roy Shivers, Darian Durant to be enshrined in Riders' Plaza of Honour

Oct 10, 2024

Moving forward, Kostyna explained council will have a five-year capital plan which he added was not in place before.

“We are getting actual true costing,” he said.

Among the issues faced by council are infrastructure, the landfill, and lagoons. The R.V. is also growing and expanding. To date this year, there have been 92 building permits issued — 56 for complete new builds.

“It succeeds many Saskatchewan communities, including some medium and small cities that don’t have the interest or the popularity Candle Lake does now,” he said.

Another big item on council’s agenda is the creation of a Parks Master Plan, which will be discussed during next week’s meeting. Council has been criticized by former mayor Borden Wasyluk for its decision to hire a consultant, but Kostyna stands by it.

“This council will use consultants to help us where we just don’t have the resources in the office to so something as complicated as these types of things,” he said.

Tax increase

One move by council this year that has been met with some criticism was to increase taxes.

In the case of former Mayor Borden Wasyluk, he told paNOW his taxes had gone up over $1,000. Kostyna explained council is committed to completing projects and addressing issues that have been outstanding. He also acknowledged the previous council had lowered taxes.

“Once we observed and got through the budget process, we learned that a lot of things were outstanding and we just simply didn’t have the money set aside or the operational plan in place for the future to do it,” he said.

Kostnya also explained communities and cities have only two tax tools at their disposal to raise revenue. One is a levy on a portion of taxes based on the assessed value of properties, and the other is a base tax which has been used in the past by the R.V — $650 for residential and $850 for commercial.

“There is a basic set of services that everybody gets, no matter whether they have improved their property or they buy a brand new house,” Kostyna said. “Everybody gets the same basic level of service.”

–

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell