Saskatoon councillor wants plan for keeping DEED funding promise

This week’s provincial endorsement of Saskatoon’s proposed Downtown Event and Entertainment District (DEED) is good news to some. But one at least one city councillor wants a closer look at the numbers on the city’s side.

City councillor Robert Pearce said he wants to bring financial clarity on how the city’s share of the project would be covered.

The proposed $1.2 billion Downtown Events and Entertainment District is being pitched as a major opportunity for the city, with hope there will be support from the provincial and federal governments.

Pearce wants council to take a closer look at how the city plans to fund its share.

“The question is, how do we responsibly get there, make sure it’s measured and appropriate, and keep our promise that the ratepayers aren’t going to pay for it,” Pearce said.

Pearce said he wants a concrete plan showing how the city’s share would be raised without affecting property taxes.

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Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block said the direction of council has always been that the cost will not impact property taxes.

“If that were ever to change, that would come back to council and there would be a full public discussion at that time. And I am not anticipating that for a number of reasons,” Block said.

She said one of those reasons has to do with the original funding strategy still in place.

The city has said potential revenues sources could include three way sharing and targeted levies. The discussion has centred around amusement and accommodation taxes, tax increment financing or TIF, and parkade revenues.

More recently, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Muskeg Lake Cree Nation allowing for negotiations on a possible partnership on the project.

“That could change the metrics as well and make it a much better opportunity to de-risk the project, as well,” Block said.

Whether a deal can be struck with the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation remains to be seen.

But there are other promising developments. This week, the provincial government said it would match federal funding up to a third of the eligible project costs. So far, there has been no funding commitments for the project from federal government.

As for Pearce’s call for more financial clarity on the city’s portion, that discussion is expected to happen next month.