2.83 per cent property tax increase approved by Saskatoon city council for 2021

After two days of deliberations, numerous motions, inquiries, debates and revisions, Saskatoon city council has passed the 2021 capital and operating budgets.

Mayor Charlie Clark called the deliberations “unprecedented” and applauded the work councillors and administration collectively completed over the course of the last two days.

During 2021 operating budget deliberations in November 2019, a 3.87 per cent property tax increase was approved.

However, right off the bat on Day 2 of budget deliberations on Thursday, Coun. Troy Davies proposed that more than $2.5 million be removed from the 2021 budget as a “global adjustment in the Corporate Governance and Finance Plan.”

That would bring the property tax increase down to 2.87 per cent.

It was met with support from several councillors including Bev Dubois, Randy Donauer and David Kirton.

“It may only be a few dollars to you, but it may be a gesture of support to residents and businesses who, in the end, are paying the bills,” said Donauer. “And if we add up all of those few dollars this month over next month, over the next month, from city hall to the police to the library, all those little bits of dollars add up to people who are actually counting pennies, not dollars.”

Kirton agreed.

“I believe that we, like everybody else out there, have a responsibility to do our part to help people make it through these COVID times. We are not the answer to everything, but we need to do our part,” said Kirton.

Ultimately, after all motions and amendments were agreed upon, and city administration crunched the numbers, the tax increase ended up slightly lower, at 2.83 per cent.

That, said city finance director Kari Smith, amounted to a $20 reduction from the $75.74 to $55.36, for an average home valued at $371,000.

Councillors Sarina Gersher, Mairin Loewen and Hilary Gough all voted against lowering taxes by one per cent.

Gersher told council she was not comfortable with the amount, and worried about whether green spaces and things like paddling pools which can affect the quality of life for many people would be affected.

She indicated, however, she might be more comfortable with a half a per cent tax reduction.

However, Davies responded by saying, “Times are tough. Today, we’re calling in a favour.”

Other changes to the operating budget included a reduction in the travel budgets of councillors and Clark by $59,000 and to their car allowance budgets by a total of $12,000.

More than $199,000 was also removed from the Saskatoon Police Service budget ask of $412,000 for five additional special constables. Chief Troy Cooper said it probably wouldn’t affect department priorities.

“If we were to cut programming or delay recruitment or whatever it is, it’s unlikely that that as a priority would be impacted,” he said.

The SPS budget must still approved by the Board of Police Commissioners at its Dec. 11 meeting.

A motion to extend free Saturday parking from Jan. 1 to April 30 was initially defeated. However, a revision was later introduced, which would only extend the free Saturday parking until the end of March. That motion will cost about $158,000 to cover during those months.

Another $65,000 for berm mowing throughout the city was also approved, as was a $100,000 allocation into reserves for the Innovative Housing Program.

The city’s 2021 adjusted capital budget, which has no effect on property taxes, was reduced by nearly $10 million.

Clark said preparing a budget during a pandemic was challenging for everyone involved.

“Trying to forecast and make decisions and evaluate risk and find savings — but while still making sure we can provide the services that are absolutely essential for the quality of life for our residents — is no small feat,” he said. “I know there’s been a tremendous amount of work put into this.”

Both the capital and operating budgets were unanimously approved.