City Council approves new police chief, utility relief options; budget still unapproved

The candidates were eventually whittled down to the top three, all of whom were interviewed and vetted by the police commission. Sharps says the vote was unanimously in favour of Murphy stepping into the role, which has been vacant since previous chief Mike Worden resigned in May.

Council unanimously approved to ratify the hire effective Jan. 1. Chief Murphy was in attendance, and spoke after council approved his hiring.

“When I waited for the vote, I was getting stressed out a little bit; I was starting to wonder if I should just head out the door,” Murphy joked.

“I am beyond excited to lead this organization and to be your chief, and I am honoured to wear this uniform and to lead this organization to the future,” Murphy says. “So I just want to thank you for that, and I won’t let you down.”

Utility rate relief options for low-income residents

Following the ratification of the new police chief, council deliberated on corporate service’s proposal for a 2023 relief program to aid in utility costs for low-income residents. Council had directed corporate services on Nov. 7 to prepare a utility relief option. The program is specific to 2023, with evaluation occurring on an annual basis. The program will leverage the city’s Fair Entry program, which is designed to assist low-income families and individuals to enjoy programs throughout the city. The relief program is based off of an annual low-income cutoff as determined by Statistics Canada.

The program would create a rebate of $50 for the months of January, February, March, July, August and September, and would appear as a separate line item on utility bills. Qualifying applicants must hold an active utility account with the city in order to be eligible. The funding request would total approximately $1,800,000.

Debate on the program began after it was outlined to council, with concerns the rebate would not help those who may qualify under the low-income cutoff, but not have a utility account.

Coun. Ramona Robins brought up that condo owners and renters would not qualify as their utilities are encompassed in their condo or rental fees.

“We have one group of people who may benefit from this, but then others who may fit the LICO criteria, but because of the way that they’re billed, would not be able to access it.” Robins says.

Coun. Allison Knodel made a motion to increase the rebate to $100, saying it would go a longer way with low-income earners.

“To me, if we have the opportunity, especially knowing where we’ve come from last year with the profits in our energy sector, it’s a no-brainer to me that we offer a bit more of a robust amount of money to the people that need it.” Knodel says.

The motion was met with concern from most of council, with Coun. Cassi Hider expressing concern about where the additional funds would be allocated from.

“We have a duty to the citizens of Medicine Hat, and that means everyone. Where does the other $50 come from? And that concerns me. I can support people, I have empathy for people, but $50 to me is quite reasonable to come from our organization.” Hider says.

While Coun. Knodel’s motion was defeated, council did vote in favour of the utility relief program for 2023 by a unanimous vote.

Budget Deliberations

Budget deliberations then continued after the passing of the utility relief program. Most of the conversation was spent on a motion brought forward by Coun. Sharps to implement a hiring freeze on new positions within the city, with exceptions to fire, police and plant operations, until a permanent city manager is appointed. The motion was passed, but deliberations once again stalled out due to time constraints. Council will more than likely approve the upcoming budget for 2023-2024 at the next scheduled open council meeting on Dec. 19, as it is the last meeting before the new year when the budget must be passed.

by Gates Guarin

City Council approves new police chief, utility relief options; budget still unapproved

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