All 10 Steinbach council candidates face voters at election forum

All 10 council candidates appeared together for the first time at a municipal election forum held Oct. 15 at the Mennonite Heritage Village, ahead of the Oct. 28 municipal election.

Incumbent Mayor Earl Funk, who was acclaimed and faces no challenger, was also present.

An election forum was also held on Oct. 7 at the Southeast Event Centre, where only four of the 10 candidates, Mitesh Kumar, Nicholas Goertzen, Brad Unger and Gary Dyck, were present.

Four candidates, Susan Penner, Damian Penner, Jake Hiebert and Bill Hiebert, are current councillors. The other six are first-time candidates.

The 10 candidates are competing for six seats. Steinbach will see at least two new councillors as current councillors Jac Siemens and Michael Zwaagstra are not running this year.

Tessa Massi, executive director of the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce,which organized the forum, said 85 people attended.

During the forum all candidates spoke about growth, infrastructure issues, affordable taxes, business growth, quality of life and their vision for the future.

Goertzen, Susan Penner, Bill Hiebert and Jake Hiebert said the wastewater treatment facility was a top infrastructure priority.

“It is necessary because by 2032 we are going to stop our growth if we don’t get that project done,” Susan Penner said.

She said the project will cost around $200 million and it is contingent on contributions from the provincial and federal governments.

Candidates were asked about maintaining quality city services while keeping taxes affordable.

Goertzen said people should be told the exact tax numbers and how they would affect them, and whether it is worthwhile to raise taxes for what people would actually get in return.

“One example I use is transit,” he said. “It’s something like $40 a year per person for transit, which is very affordable.”

Candidates were also asked about the city council’s role in creating an environment for the growth of businesses.

Unger said he would like to see struggling businesses connect with the right people.

“I don’t know if it’s a tax bailout or a financial bailout, but just an opportunity for the city council or for the Chamber of Commerce to put them in touch with the right people,” he said.

Candidates were asked to name Steinbach’s biggest opportunity and biggest challenge.

Susan Penner said things such as inflation are one of the challenges to the city’s growth. She added taxes from businesses or new residences do not add a lot to the tax base.

“I’ve realized the more we grow, the more disciplined we need to be in our spending because growth actually costs a lot of money,” she said.

She said one of the opportunities for the city is keeping the same quality of life that residents have had for decades.

Goertzen suggested the city should look at large-scale projects that must happen through long-term borrowing instead of short-term.

“If we expand to maybe 10 years of debt, 15 years of debt, will that help us get these projects for growth out there better? I think it’s time to look at that,” he said.