Road taxes plan moves forward but with concerns

SASKATOON – The City of Saskatoon’s latest proposal to increase property taxes to fix crumbling roads has been well received by city councillors.

The plan was discussed at an executive committee meeting on Monday and while some have concerns, all agreed to move it forward to council.

“If we’re going to ask people to invest more in terms of taxes into the roads, we need to show people very clearly what they’re going to get for that and that we are continuously improving and changing our operations to ensure we’re stretching every dollar as far as we can,” said Ward 6 Councillor Charlie Clark.

It was a sentiment echoed by many councillors at the meeting as they discussed plans to increase property taxes by almost three per cent annually over the next three years to close a $19.8 million funding gap needed to improve deteriorating roads.

While many of the details are still being ironed out, Mayor Don Atchison says concrete may be a better investment.

“You see those roads that have been made into immaculate condition and three years later you go back and they’re torn up again, well if that’s the case I think we need to look at a different solution for those areas and I understand that concrete is a very good solution for that,” said Atchison.

City planners say it’s something they’re also looking into.

“This year we’re doing a couple of test sections in the Kensington neighbourhood as well and one of the ramps on Highway 16 and 11. So we’re going to do some test sections and see how it stands up,” said Rob Frank, strategic services branch manager.

Many councillors say they want to see better communication with the public so people understand why roads which may look perfectly fine are attended to before those that may be ridden with potholes.

“The fair condition roads we can get a lot more mileage out of our money and we can keep those roads in good condition rather than fixing all of the expensive very poor condition roads,” said Frank.

“I’m concerned people are losing confidence to some degree and I don’t think they need to. I just think we need to show more clearly how we’re tackling these issues,” said Clark.

The plan will go before council on Wednesday but is unlikely to get the final go ahead until budget deliberations in early December.