The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), the group referring to itself as Saskatchewan鈥檚 voice for the province鈥檚 hometowns, announced they would be exchanging their name to Municipalities of Saskatchewan on February 4. The declaration, referred to as a rebranding announcement, was made during the SUMA AGM at the 115th Annual SUMA Convention in Regina from February 2-5.
鈥淭he name Municipalities of Saskatchewan encompasses all of our communities 鈥� our cities, towns, villages, resort villages and northern municipalities and demonstrates the true breadth and strength of Saskatchewan鈥檚 hometowns,鈥� said President Gordon Barnhart, as he discussed the purpose for acquiring the new label.聽
SUMA had played a long and integral role in the province鈥檚 history. In Saskatchewan in the early 1900s, community governments from cities to villages wanted to build an organization constructed on a collective basis. This future association would be designed with the intent of defining the legislative and financial requirements provided by the provincial government for those living in Saskatchewan鈥檚 urban and rural pockets. Thus, the Union of Saskatchewan Municipalities began in 1906. The organization鈥檚 name later switched to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association. Regina鈥檚 mayor of the time, Peter McAra Junior, became SUMA鈥檚 first president.
Also, on February 4, a wing of the organization鈥檚 purchasing side underwent a name change when SUMAdvantage became CentralSource. SUMAdvantage, the group鈥檚 former purchasing program, was renamed CentralSource to represent a centre for procurement, expertise and partnership opportunities.
鈥淪UMAdvantage was the name given to the group purchasing side of the SUMA organization. Its focus was on giving members a route to get the kind of discounts on goods that bulk purchasing makes possible. SUMAdvantage has recently been renamed CentralSource,鈥� Sean McKenzie Director, Advocacy Services Municipalities of Saskatchewan, clarified.
The purpose of CentralSource is to give their members a judiciously聽refined list fostered through the request for proposal process (RFP). According to CentralSource, members are able to call these partners聽for quotes in order to complete their internal competitions and evaluations.
鈥淥ur values and principles will remain the same,鈥� said President Barnhart. 鈥淲e will continue to ensure the interests of our members are represented to other orders of government, we will continue helping our hometowns save money and we will continue to provide resources to make local government operations more effective.鈥�
In essence, the declared purpose of CentralSource is meant to leverage the purchasing power for聽member聽municipalities聽throughout Saskatchewan to help their members save money. CentralSource further testified that their聽partners are scrutinised through an extensive process based on fair and transparent developments. Further, the rebranding changes for the organizations once known as SUMA and SUMAdvantage will continue over the next year, along with an updated website. Municipalities of Saskatchewan have also said that work has been allocated to amend any legislation responsible which involves the association鈥檚 former name(s).聽聽
