Stacey Landin, president of CUPE Local 9, will be presenting at tonight’s Moose Jaw City Council meeting about the level of contracting out of municipal services and projects.

“As the city undertakes a number of major infrastructure renewal projects outlined in its 2016-2020 Capital Plan, it is critical that council and the city’s administration consider the most effective and efficient approaches to do the work,” said Landin.

Some of the examples of contracting out in Moose Jaw over the last two years include $6.4 million to Cypress Paving, $1.5 million to Mid-West Concrete and Paving Stone Ltd, $803,643 to DC Trenching Ltd., $776,000 to two electrical companies, and $164,989 to Capital Sewer Services.

The council meeting is happening at 6:30 p.m. on October 3, 2016 at Moose Jaw City Hall, 228 Main St. N.

“CUPE Local 9 represents dedicated city staff who want to deliver high quality and efficient services to the residents of Moose Jaw. We believe that decisions to contract out city work may not always have taken into account alternative ways to deliver the service in-house,” added Landin.

CUPE Local 9 represents approximately 250 inside and outside workers at the City of Moose Jaw. Our members fix and maintain the roads. We keep safe water flowing to homes and our wastewater system functioning. We maintain public parks, sports grounds, pools, and rinks and prepare and deliver recreational programming. We have accountants, administrative professionals, mechanics, information technology staff, bylaw officers, heavy equipment operators, and a multitude of other positions.