State of the City Reaction

Jerrod Schafer speaks at the State of the City Event

Members of Swift Current's Chamber of Commerce and other residents gathered for a State of the City address by Mayor Jerrod Schafer Wednesday morning.

It comes on the heels of the city's budget announcement on Monday.

"The common indicator at functions like this are the questions afterwords," said Chamber Chair Trevor Koot "I think people were engaged and inquisitive. That's always a very good sign of a successful event."

Schafer spent significant time talking about the new budget. It includes a tax increase of 12.2% that the city blames mostly on the loss of a policing subsidy due to Swift Current's growing population.

"Under the circumstances we feel that the city did a very good job with this," Koot said. "They're still looking at things that will improve the city, even if they are small items that can be marketed and used to leverage the city to outside groups... bringing in new employment and new business."

Koot says bridging the gap between commercial and residential ratepayers in creative ways is still on the Chamber's agenda.

Colin Powers interviews Chamber Chair Trevor Koot: