The City of Saskatoon is proposing a 3.97 per cent property tax increase to cover an $8.1 million revenue shortfall in its 2017 preliminary budget, which was released Monday afternoon.
The increase would result in a homeowner paying $67.55 more a year in tax if their property is assessed at $325,000. More than half of that money would go toward snow and ice management, as well as road maintenance.
“When you look at the budget, it’s pretty basic,” Kerry Tarasoff, the city’s chief financial officer, said Monday to reporters.
“It’s snow and ice, it’s the road levy.”
The budget was presented at a governance and priority committee meeting in city hall’s council chambers Monday afternoon. City council is scheduled to deliberate the plan from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.
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In September, a preliminary budget based on the city’s “best estimates” was released ahead of the civic election. It projected a property tax increase of 3.89 per cent, however officials stressed at the time that the report was not final.
Monday’s proposed total city budget is $1.075 billion, up from $997 million in 2016. Operating expenditures supported by city taxes make up $463.4 million of the total preliminary budget, which is an increase of $18.4 million from 2016.
Transportation is the largest sector in the city’s general expenditures. Officials are proposing to spend almost $44 million specifically on road maintenance in 2017, an increase of roughly $4 million.
Tarasoff said the increase is part of the city’s Building Better Roads initiative focused on incrementally improving Saskatoon’s streets each year. He added that work will likely start to shift from the city’s major roadways.
“You’re going to see a lot of progress in 2017 on neighbourhood roads,” Tarasoff said.
“I think residents will start seeing that in front of door steps more than what they have in the past.”
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Other proposed transportation expenses include roughly $14.3 million in snow and ice management for 2017, compared to $13.28 million in 2016’s budget. Street cleaning and sweeping is proposed to stay almost unchanged, at $3.78 million.
The largest single line item in the 2017 preliminary budget is the Saskatoon Police Service at $96 million, an increase of almost $2 million from 2016. Tarasoff said that number could rise, as police Chief Clive Weighill still has to propose his growth package, which is not included in the proposed budget.
Tarasoff said the proposed property tax increase could move up or down depending on the outstanding police requests and if council wishes to put extra money away to address gaps in infrastructure funding. However, he added that officials are cognizant “there is only one tax payer” to draw from.
“We’ve really pushed the administration hard to be as frugal as we could without affecting service levels,” Tarasoff said.
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The city’s total projected debt for the end of 2016 is $338 million. The proposed budget accounts for another $22.6 million in borrowing in 2017.
Proposed capital spending up in 2017
The city is also planning to invest $261.4 million in capital projects in 2017, which is hard infrastructure like a bridge or sidewalk. The amount is a $32.7 million increase from the 2016 approved capital budget.
Utility projects make up roughly 40 per cent of 2017’s proposed capital investments. These include upgrades and maintenance to Saskatoon’s water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant, as well as Saskatoon Light & Power upgrades.
Tarasoff said the increase is related to the fact that the city is trying to take advantage of financing from the federal government’s clean water and wastewater fund.
“When the federal government provides you funding … you usually have to match it,” Tarasoff said.
“As a result of using those funds, we match those funds and so all of a sudden you’re going to see our capital program go up.”
Officials are also planning on investing $59.63 million in transportation capital projects, which include replacing city buses and further developing its bus rapid transit plan.
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