Saskatoon Officials Reaffirm Commitment to Neighborhood Safety and Homelessness Initiatives
Despite their removal from Saskatoon's official strategic blueprint, city council members and administrative leaders are strongly emphasizing that neighborhood watch groups and a proposed 24-hour drop-in center remain critically important priorities for the community. The governance and priorities committee conducted a thorough review of the proposed 2026-29 strategic plan during a Wednesday session, highlighting ongoing commitments beyond formal documentation.
Public Feedback Shapes Strategic Direction
The strategic planning process incorporated substantial public input through comprehensive online surveys that gathered responses from 1,743 residents alongside 178 city employees. Richard Phillips, Saskatoon's chief strategy and transformation officer, explained that survey respondents consistently expressed desire for the municipal government to maintain strong focus on three key areas: homelessness, community safety, and enhanced service delivery.
Councillor Bev Dubois noted that the response numbers appeared somewhat limited relative to Saskatoon's population size, but Phillips clarified that these figures align with engagement patterns observed in other Canadian municipalities. The survey remained accessible for four weeks with multiple feedback channels available to residents throughout the consultation period.
Drop-In Center Discussions and Provincial Collaboration
Mayor Cynthia Block sought specific clarification regarding drop-in center provisions within the strategic framework, particularly referencing a removed key performance indicator concerning a 24-hour drop-in facility with automatic winter activation protocols. Phillips confirmed that drop-in centers remain integral components of the strategic plan, with one-year actionable items including identification of additional shelter and drop-in center locations through cooperative efforts with provincial government partners.
City manager Jeff Jorgenson elaborated that drop-in centers operate as provincially administered programs containing substantial private data. Municipal authorities are currently collaborating with provincial counterparts to determine appropriate data accessibility parameters that respect privacy while enabling effective service coordination.
Phillips further explained that certain key performance indicators were eliminated primarily due to data collection timing constraints rather than diminished importance of the underlying initiatives.
Neighborhood Watch Program Considerations
Another significant element excluded from the finalized strategic plan involved municipal support for neighborhood watch program development. The official report indicated this concept didn't align with Saskatoon Police Service's established best practices, and public feedback suggested residents preferred alternative community safety focus areas.
However, when contacted by media representatives, Saskatoon Police Service spokespersons confirmed organizational support for neighborhood watch initiatives and citizen crime prevention programs. Phillips detailed extensive consultations with police authorities, fire department personnel, and municipal administration experts specializing in community safety protocols.
The consensus emerging from these discussions determined that while neighborhood watch programs didn't warrant strategic plan inclusion as immediate priorities, this exclusion doesn't preclude potential municipal support for such community-led safety initiatives in appropriate contexts.
City officials repeatedly emphasized throughout committee deliberations that strategic plan exclusions don't equate to diminished importance, with Phillips articulating the fundamental principle guiding these decisions: "Because it's not in the strategic plan doesn't mean it's not important to the city."
