Saskatoon property taxes could be going up by less than originally estimated.
A report heading to the governance and priorities committee is estimating an increase of 4.96 per cent in 2018, nearly a fully percentage point lower than the 5.77 per cent estimated in August.
READ MORE: City exploring ways to reduce property tax impact
The city’s director of finance said they looked at ways to find savings while dealing with a $6.1 million reduction in provincial funding.
“While we continue to face significant challenges as a result of the provincial funding decreases, we’ve heard through our public engagement that it’s very important to maintain our existing service levels throughout the city,” Clae Hack said in a release.
The decrease in provincial funding is equivalent to a 2.77 per cent property tax hike, which is reflected in the estimate.
Saskatoon Police Service spending is estimated to increase 1.28 per cent in 2018, with a 0.55 per cent increase in dedicated snow and ice levy and a 0.36 per cent increase for all other civic services.
READ MORE: Saskatoon city council sets property tax, maintains U of S rink funding
One way the city is saving money is to extend the repayment of sound wall borrowings to 10 years instead of five years, resulting in a $250,000 decrease in expenditures.
Administration is also removing the $240,000 growth allocation to roadways preservation fund, stating annual targets will be met due to favourable pricing.
They are also decreasing the transfer to the reserve for capital expenditures by $600,000 to reduce the reliance on the property tax.
There was also an adjustment made to the estimated amount that would be collected in traffic fines and penalties, with an overall decrease in revenue of $300,000 instead of the original estimate of $500,000.
The preliminary operating budget for next year is now estimated at $491 million, an increase of $13.3 million from 2017.
The 2018 business plan and budget update will head to the governance and priorities committee meeting on Sept. 18.
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