PST revenue and library spending: Sask. municipalities lay out wish list for provincial government

Saskatchewan municipalities want to see the new PST revenue the province brought in as a result of changes to last year's budget be included in municipal revenue sharing.

That's one of 18 resolutions the members of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association passed this week at an annual convention.

Spending more money on libraries, increasing support of local renewable energy initiatives, and having the province pay for the recruiting and training of first responders were also on the list.

Delegates from Churchbridge, Sask., presented a resolution on allowing the RCMP to close highways during unsafe conditions, in response to the death of a tow truck driver during a blizzard last spring.

Officials from the Highways and Infrastructure Ministry are the only ones who can currently close a highway. 

That rule is in place so the government is the main point of contact for people who want to know whether a road has been closed, said David Marit, the minister of that department.

After Wednesday's session at the convention, Marit said he'd be open to this change.

"Our number one focus is highway safety. If that means making some changes to make it work that way, we'll definitely look at that," he said.  

Other resolutions that passed include:

• Lobby the Justice Ministry to require people convicted of vandalism pay back the municipality.

• Meet with TransCanada to explore restarting the Energy East project.

• Lobby the provincial government to adjust financial rules for candidates running for municipal office.

• Lobby the provincial government for a new province-wide infrastructure program.

• Lobby SaskPower to convert street lights to LED and pay for it.

• Lobby the Environment Ministry to phase in the new environmental code between now and 2020.