One of the longest-serving councillors on the current town council, Darryl Gerrard has seen a lot of changes over the years but says this latest transition from the previous council to the current one didn’t mark a significant shift in either his role or in town operations. He says the town staff has remained relatively stable over the past few years, particularly in key positions, which makes any transition go a lot more smoothly.

Gerrard himself serves on the HR committee which has a hand in the stability of that staff, but his big focus lately has been his role on the finance committee, working on the town’s 2024 financial plan. The budgeting process becomes highly visible in the spring but started back in November, says Gerrard. For a town the size of Neepawa, they need to start early to prioritize upcoming projects and the needs of various departments and balance normal maintenance with new builds.

It’s a matter of breaking down the “must, can, would like, and can’t,” says Gerrard. The town created a new role for an asset manager last year, and now they are better able to forecast their maintenance and replacement needs as much as 20 years out or more.

While infrastructure work doesn’t make for exciting news, the work that the town has put in to develop a new lagoon system as well as expand the water treatment plant and twin the water lines into town, not to mention building new roads, creates the foundation that allows for the town’s record growth. The old lagoon system, says Gerrard, capped out at supporting about 4500 people, a number that the town has far exceeded as of 2024. Today they are ready to support 7500 with an easy road to expanding that further. Given the town’s current rate of growth, before long that expansion may well be needed.