Sean Needs To Know Some Things

I Need To Know...

Hello Sean, it's great to see you conducting your due diligence. I assume you've come across my website, where I address some of these issues. I'll provide the link later if you haven't visited it yet.

1. How do you plan to restore Medicine Hat advantage with people pushing no tax increases (Personally don't think viable) and on other hand people wanting facilities in all parts of city (pools, arenas, walking paths, parks)

A tax freeze is impractical as we are still recovering from the previous two-year tax freeze during COVID. I suggest steady, deliberate increases that are more reasonable. Growth in the areas you mentioned is part of economic development, and to attract new residents and businesses, we need to be appealing in the most basic sense.

What does the Medicine Hat Advantage mean to you? If it's lower utility rates, we currently average about $60 less per month than other parts of the province. I anticipate this advantage will gradually decline with the depletion of our natural gas resources. Finding a sustainable alternative should be a priority for the city. Major developers seek a city with more than one power source, and the rise of AI will double electricity consumption in the next five years.

Producing power isn't our only challenge, as our transmission capacity is considered congested, and the province revised its position on transmission lines for new energy this past August. Southeast Alberta needs approximately $3 billion in short-term power line expansion, which has now been passed on to the generators. This is not an easy obstacle to overcome and poses a challenge to expansion.

2. I work in energy business and want to know your thoughts on possible MCC and how city currently controls Energy business? Do you think City Councillors and Mayor that get elected or changed every 4 years are best to run energy businesses?

Firstly, the MCC, in its purest form, has some shortcomings. The operational costs seem understated, necessitating a thorough review. My concern is that it may not deliver the benefits we hope for as a city, and the expenses and lack of control could be burdensome. If it fails, the city will bear the consequences, and since we stand to lose the most, we should have the ability to control the outcome and mitigate any losses. Entrusting our most valuable resource to an independent team is not something I am comfortable with, so I currently do not support the MCC. The city administration has managed our energy for 125 years. Has the energy business evolved? Certainly, but what have we not done to remain current and ensure we are reliable stewards of this resource? That's where I would like to begin. Whatever decision we make should be in the best interest of the residents.

3. What is your understanding of whom owns the CITY BUSINESSES, the CMH or tax payers such as Ratepayers group?

Lobby groups in the City of Medicine Hat are no more privileged than any resident. The City owns and operates city businesses for the benefit of the community, which includes you and me. There should be no distinction between a city resident and the CMH, except that you elect government officials to manage the city on your behalf. Listening to your voice and every other voice in town is a councillor's ultimate goal, so we can represent the community as a whole, not just individuals.

I hope I didn't go on too long. If anything is unclear or seems off, please let me know.

Thank you again for exercising your right to vote instead of disregarding it.

Here's my link: https://www.jayhitchen.ca/