Since all property owners are being offered the same 20 year financing and the fact that Prairie South wouldn't appear until year three of the program at the earliest, Mayor Deb Higgins believes the local school divisions would have plenty of time to budget for the much needed water main improvements in Moose Jaw.

Prairie South is arguing that paying their share of the program costs as property owners, would cause financial hardship and impact the quality of education they could provide students.

"Schools have not been exempt in any of the cities that we have looked at that have previously run a Local Improvement Program." explained Higgins expressing her surprise that the school board felt uninformed. "They're included in the legislation, they are big partners in the community and we have included them as we have all other organizations."

Mayor Higgins was surprised by the way Prairie South voiced their concerns, saying there was nothing mentioned during public consultations in the spring and only recently did the board send her a letter asking for a meeting but then sent out a press release before she could respond to their concerns.