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December 17, 2024


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Next Week's Rural Dart

Due to the upcoming holidays, there will be no Rural Dart email on December 24th. The December Rural Sheaf newsletter will run as scheduled on Tuesday, December 31st.

SARM's Holiday Schedule

This holiday season, the SARM office will be closed to the public from December 24th at 3:00pm until January 2nd at 8:30am. A reduced complement of SARM staff will be available on December 27th, December 30th, and December 31st to meet the needs of our members.

Notice of Planned

Procurement Posting on

SaskTenders

Effective January 1, 2025


The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) requires any municipality interested in participating in a buying group to publish a declaration of its intent to participate in a buying group. Participating in SARM’s buying group includes purchases from SARM’s Member Purchasing, Canoe Procurement Group of Canada, and Sourcewell.


Effective January 1, 2025, SARM’s legal counsel has advised that the provisions of the CFTA requiring a procuring entity to publish a notice of participation with the buying group applies to each of SARM’s members individually. The legal advice that we received is that the RM is the procuring entity and it is the RM’s responsibility to make this annual posting. 


SARM is advising its members to individually post a notice of their participation with the SARM buying group on SaskTenders before making purchases from the SARM buying group’s offerings. This posting is only required to remain active for two weeks. You will need to repeat this posting annually if purchases are planned for the year.

Notices of planned procurement for 2025 should not be posted on SaskTenders until January 1, 2025. Please see below for further details.


To create your municipality’s declaration, copy and paste the paragraph below onto a document with your municipality’s letterhead and attach to your Notice of Planned Procurement posting on SaskTenders.

 

(Insert Municipality Name) intends to participate in one or more procurements offered through the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), between (insert one year period including month/year). For further information and access to SARM’s Request for Proposal (RFP) notices, please review the Government of Saskatchewan website at sasktenders.ca/content/public/Search.aspx


Please contact Amanda Kozak, SARM's Procurement Advisor, if you have any questions at 306.761.3722 or akozak@sarm.ca.

SARM Resolutions Committee

Expression of Interest


Looking for Rural Representatives from SARM Divisions 1, 3, & 5


At the 2019 SARM Annual Convention, delegates passed two resolutions calling for the creation of a Resolutions Committee. As such, the SARM Board of Directors has approved a resolution process, which includes the creation of a Resolutions Committee with representation from each of the six SARM divisions. The SARM Resolutions Committee assists the Board of Directors and staff to carryout and improve the resolution policy and has the authority to:


  • Alter the wording, grammar, and format of resolutions to make them clear and distinct
  • Combine like resolutions
  • Recommend resolutions be withdrawn
  • Categorize resolutions
  • Amend background information that is deemed inaccurate or irrelevant in nature.


The Resolution Committee also evaluates and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for improvements to the current resolution policies and procedures.

We are contacting all members in Divisions 1, 3, and 5 for interest in a two year term.


The SARM Board will appoint interested members to the committee at their Board of Directors meeting. 


If anyone on your council wishes to be on the Resolutions Committee, please submit the online Expression of Interest form linked below by Tuesday, January 3, 2025.

Submit Expression of Interest
Resolutions Policy

Deadlines

Rat Control Program

Claim Deadline: December 31, 2024

To learn more about the Rat Control Program, scan the QR code or visit the SARM website.

Learn More

Civic Address Registry (CAR)

Signage Incentive Project

 

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is pleased to announce the CAR Signage Incentive Project. The project is a limited time offer to provide assistance with the cost of road name and civic address signage for Saskatchewan.

 

The Civic Address Registry (CAR) program works with communities to improve identification of property locations for 9-1-1 operators, dispatch services, and emergency responders. Communities that join CAR can participate in free training and access resources that locate properties more quickly and accurately.

 

The CAR Signage Incentive Project is being launched to encourage communities to participate in the CAR program and to increase the use of physical signage to assist in emergency response. There is no cost to participate in the CAR program or to apply for the incentive.

Further details of the project can be found below:

 

  • This project is open to new and existing CAR community participants.
  • The SPSA will subsidize the purchase of a community’s civic address signs.
  • To qualify for the signage incentive, participating communities must first complete the CAR Level 2 training by March 31, 2025. Training is free through CAR.
  • CAR Level 2 training qualifies participants for road signage.
  • CAR Level 3 training qualifies participants for civic address and road signage.
  • During this limited time offer, you can submit only one application per signage type.
  • The signage incentive is limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

How to get involved: Encourage community leads to send their name and community name advising their interest in the incentive project to car@gov.sk.ca by December 31, 2024.

 

For more information on the CAR program, visit: saskpublicsafety.ca/communities/car.

 

To register for the CAR program and to complete the required training to qualify for the incentive, visit: saskaddress.ca/carloginrequest/home/signup.

 

For more information on the CAR Signage Incentive Project, email car@gov.sk.ca or contact Lisa Hall at (306) 519-2659.

CAR Fact Sheet
CAR FAQs

Information & Resources

SARM Calendar for Outlook

 

Similar to last year, in conjunction with the online calendar on our website, we have created an email calendar through Outlook for SARM members looking for an easier and more efficient way to keep track of important municipal deadlines and reminders. Please note this calendar is only compatible with Outlook.

 

If you are an Outlook user and wish to gain access to the '2025 SARM Member Calendar’, please click the link below to download the file. Once the calendar has finished downloading, double click the file in your Downloads folder to import the contents into your Outlook calendar.

Download Outlook Calendar

Disclaimer: The following RMs have requested the information below to be distributed and will be billed for using this service.

Looking to Hire:


RM of Tullymet No. 216, Road Maintenance Operator, Dec 30 - Close

RM of Vanscoy No. 345, Office Assistant, Dec 31 - Close

RM of Fertile Valley No. 285, Grader Operator, Dec 31 - Close

RM of Lost River No. 313, Foreman, Jan 10 - Close

RM of Kindersley No. 290, Assistant Foreman, Jan 10 - Close

RM of South Qu’Appelle No. 157, Foreman, Jan 12 - Close

RM of White Valley No. 49, Grader Operator, Jan 24 - Close


Looking to Buy/Sell:


RM of Preeceville No. 334, Snowblower, Jan 10 - Close

SARM Classifieds

SARM Classifieds Submissions


Ad postings for the SARM Classifieds can be submitted through the online submission forms. For questions, contact 306.757.3577 or sarm@sarm.ca.

Submit a Classifieds Ad

New This Week

Community Rink Affordability Grant Application Period Announced


Applications for the 2024-25 Community Rink Affordability Grant will open on January 6, 2025.

 

Communities, First Nations, schools and non-profits are eligible and encouraged to register for the annual grant of $2,500 per indoor ice surface. The grant helps offset the costs of operating indoor skating and curling rinks in Saskatchewan.

Learn More

Highway Winter Weights Start December 13 in Northern Saskatchewan


The Ministry of Highways announced winter weight season begins 12:01 a.m., Friday, December 13, 2024, in the northern region, supporting Saskatchewan's export-based economy.


Winter weights allow trucks to carry heavier loads on secondary highways, which maximizes the amount of goods that can be moved when starting their journeys in land-locked Saskatchewan to destinations around the world.

Learn More

New Financial Incentive Now Offered to Emergency Medicine Specialists


A new incentive of up to $200,000 over five years will be offered to support recruitment of graduates in Emergency Medicine. The incentive includes both specialist Emergency Medicine physicians and Family Medicine physicians who pursue additional training in Emergency Medicine.

Learn More

Applications Now Open for the 2025 Agriculture Student Scholarship


The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Agriculture Student Scholarship. There are four awards available: a grand prize scholarship valued at $6,000 and three runner up scholarships at $3,000 each.

Learn More

Sponsored Content

BEAT THE TAX! Pre-pay your Bulk Farm Fuel for 2025 before December 31, 2024, and receive up to $2,500 in Co-op gift cards.


BONUS: First 3 customers to pre-pay bulk farm fuel worth $100,000 will receive a $5,000 gift card.


Call your Saskatoon Co-op fuel team member today at 306.933.3833!

To view past issues of the Rural Dart, visit the Publications page on the SARM website.

Rural Dart Archive
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