Saskatoon city council finalized the 2019 preliminary budget after two days of deliberations, with a property tax hike just below the proposed target recommended by administration.
Council brought the proposed property tax hike of 4.5 per cent down to 4.4 per cent for 2019.
A homeowner with an assessed property value of $371,000 would see their yearly property tax rise by roughly $79.52.
“What I’m hearing from residents is they want to know the city has a strong future, that it’s a good place to raise families and that we’re looking after the things that we build and our assets and this plan does that,” Mayor Charlie Clark told reporters Tuesday evening following deliberations.
Councillors managed to shave off $300,000 from the 2019 recommended business plan options.
Council voted to add an extra $150,000 to hire an employee to work on a low emissions community implementation plan.
Clark said he was pleased Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA) received an additional $100,000 in funding from the recommended business plan options.
“It’s very frustrating that we are carrying more and more of the load,” Clark said.
In 2017, the Saskatchewan government amended the Meewasin Valley Authority Act to remove the statutory funding requirement for the province and University of Saskatchewan.
The city is expected to move to a multi-year budget approach for a two-year cycle for the 2020-21 budget years.
– With files from Ryan Kessler
Comments