After being elected to his seat on Weyburn City Council in May, following a bi-election held after the passing of long-term Councillor Dick Michel, Larry Heggs has announced his plans to run for another term in the upcoming municipal election.
For Heggs, the learning curve of City Council wasn't so steep, given his background with the chamber and regional economic development.
"It was more of a catch-up, in regards to where they were at with particular projects and files," he noted. "I really didn't feel that I was that far out, but there's always work to be done. It's certainly not to be taken lightly. I personally see it as a privilege to be part of it, so the work has to get done. There are lots of opportunities, I think, within the City."
Over the past 30 years since Heggs and his wife Della came to Weyburn and raised their family, he said he has developed a wide network within the community.
"I believe that I am very accessible, and I also have a real strong ability to help to collaborate, to keep people working together and moving things forward, whether that's other Councillors or administration or whatever that looks like, I would think I wasn't doing my job if I ever felt that somebody thought, 'I can't go talk to him'. I certainly wouldn't want that."
"I genuinely love the city. It's a great place to be."
Having enjoyed his time on Council so far, Heggs said his main concerns have been the ongoing improvements to infrastructure and economic development.
"We need to increase the tax base. That's the key, and just working along with [Council] and the administration to make that work," he explained. "When you increase the population, you also increase the tax base, but it helps spread the burden of that tax costs. Most of the costs are somewhat fixed, so the more people you can spread it around through, the cheaper it becomes for everybody."
"You have to have a place where people want to live, and I genuinely think Weyburn has done a good job of that, whether it be the Spark Centre, the beautiful parks, good community services, a strong police force, all of those things make this a great place to live."
As for drawing more industry to Weyburn, Heggs said, "We've got some opportunities that we're working on and I look forward to bringing them forward."
Taking over the board appointments of the late Councillor Michel, Heggs has served on the Employee Relations committee, as well as the Airport board. If re-elected, he said he would like to sit on the Board of Police Commissioners at some point, as well as the Library Board, and, of course, the Regional Economic Development Board.
"We've got extremely strong recreation, arts, and history in this community and I'd like to be part of that as well," he shared, pointing to the growth in population and economic development over the past 30 years in Weyburn, "Obviously the Spark Centre has been huge, the opportunity for the new hospital here shortly is going to draw and make Weyburn a hub again, so that that'll be great."
Heggs said since becoming a City Councillor, infrastructure has been a high priority.
"We stepped up and spent some extra money on streets and that needed to be done, a long time coming. And that's just the start of it. We need to continue to put that pressure on to make sure that work gets done," he noted. "As Council, we're the ones who build the policies. Administration executes on those policies. Their ability to understand what we want, and we understand what's necessary, is key to making that relationship work."
He said while the infrastructure improvements were underway prior to his taking on the role, he believes the decision to properly deal with the roads has been an important one.
"It does take the road off for a while, to fix it properly, but you have to have the right base there or it's literally just a patch."
Heggs said citizens have regularly reached out to him for conversations about various issues, from which he has not only been able to attenuate their concerns but also to have the opportunity to voice those to the Council and City administration.
"I truly enjoy that part of it. It's nice to have that conversation. Sometimes the questions that they ask are the questions that you'll hear me ask [in Council meetings], because, quite frankly, I didn't think of that. Sometimes people don't get to hear what they want to hear, but it's part of the process."
"I feel honoured that I get the opportunity to express that to people and to share with them what the goal is or what the end decision is and why it is that way. It's our job to educate as well, right? So we need to ensure that the public understands, not just, 'we're doing it this way', but, 'this is why we're going to do it'. I think that helps curb a lot of the questions."
He said more often than not, people are receptive when the Council's decisions are explained to them. He said if he doesn't know the answer, he asks it during a Council meeting so the public can also hear it.
"If I have that question, I always figure there's got to be a lot more people than just me that want to ask the question. We've got a great administration to answer those questions, but just asking the questions for the people and just making people accountable, that's the key, I think, going forward. Accountability is huge and I take it very personal. I think that I'm accountable. I'm accountable to the citizens of Weyburn, and I expect that from everyone."
"It's the great people of that make the community, it's not a few members of Council or administration, it's the people in this City, and I genuinely believe that," Heggs added. "I'd be honoured to serve them again, I think it is a privilege and I find it very rewarding. I hope that people get out and vote."