Regional News-Optimist_January 31, 2019

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Serving the Battlefords since 1908

www.newsoptimist.ca

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Thursday, January 31, 2019

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Published every Thursday

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Auld Lang Syne En Masse

Robbie Burns Supper and Ceilidh 2019 was presented by the Battlefords Highland Dance Association Saturday evening, Jan. 26. Guest pipers were the Prince Albert Highlanders Pipes and Drums. Above, everyone joins in Auld Lang Syne. For more photos, see Page 21 and visit our website at www.newsoptimist.ca for a photo gallery. Photo by Averil Hall

RCMP: Final stats show crime decline By John Cairns Staff Reporter

There were positive numbers coming out of S/Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt’s

Sports

Silvernagle victorious Page 11

News

100th named ‘arterial’ Page 3

Zinchuk Divisive nightmare Page 5

RCMP report to North Battleford city council Monday. Overall crime numbers for 2018 in North Battleford are on the way down, with calls for service down about four per cent. As well, there were encouraging numbers from his report about the first month of the Police and Crisis Team. The Police and Crisis Team (PACT) was established Dec. 12 and provides first response to persons suffering from mental health and addictions issues. In that first month, 17 calls were diverted away from the emergency room, freeing up 85 man hours that would have otherwise been spent by RCMP members who would have had to wait for medical assistance alongside those affected

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Good first month for Police and Crisis Team individuals. “It was a joint effort with Battlefords Mental Health,” said Woolfitt of the initiative. Workers

Battlefords RCMP S/Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt presented the final RCMP stats for 2018 to North Battleford city council Monday. Photo by John Cairns

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By John Cairns Staff Reporter

North Battleford City Hall continues to work towards putting together a new remuneration policy for council. A draft remuneration policy was before council Monday after being discussed at planning committee a week earlier. But it has been tabled to the next council meeting, mainly to allow time for administration to come back with some further numbers impacting one aspect of the policy: setting the compensation levels. An independent fiveperson committee had come up with the proposed new policy, which would tie the compensation of the mayor and council to that of provincial members of the legislative assembly. That is a change from the previous policy tying compensation to that of the city manager. The stumbling block is coming up with a percent-

age. The original wording had called for the mayor’s compensation to be set at 70 per cent of that of provincial MLAs, and for council compensation to be set at 35 per cent of the mayor’s compensation. But a wrench has been thrown in with a recent move by the federal government to eliminate a tax exemption previously available to municipal councillors and other elected officials. “One-third of a councillor’s salary was taxfree,” noted City Manager Randy Patrick in speaking to reporters. “That’s been eliminated.” That means councillors’ compensation will be subject to the same tax as everyone else, cutting into council’s take home pay by a few thousand dollars. There had been talk of tying the mayor’s compensation to MLAs at a higher rate, upwards of 80 per cent, to make up for that shortfall. In the end, however, it Continued on Page 2

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have set up an office at the detachment and they are “fully engaged with our members,” he said. Continued on Page 2

City Hall looks to mitigate tax on council pay

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