‘Largely a spending problem:’ Chamber responds to Saskatoon tax hike

The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce says city hall needs to get its spending under control so taxpayers aren’t left picking up the slack.

Saskatoon’s city council passed its 2023 budget Tuesday, which included a 3.93 per cent increase to property taxes.

The total 2023 budget will be approximately $1.33 billion, including $338 million for capital expenses, $586 million for operating expenses, and $399 million for the utilities budget. The budget also allows for the creation of 77.6 new full-time equivalent positions with the city, including 19 police officers.

“Ultimately, property taxpayers will contribute more in 2023 to bring the City’s budget back to balance,” Chamber CEO Jason Aebig said in a statement.

“While the deficit was framed as a revenue problem, we believe it’s largely a spending problem that could be solved by managing staffing levels and adjusting service standards to more affordable levels.”

In addition to increasing the number of staff, the city is also working on several major — and costly — projects, including a new downtown central library with an estimated price tag of $134 million. The city also recently purchased land for a proposed downtown arena, though that $25-million sale was covered by the reserve accumulated by the city’s land branch rather than by property taxes.

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said he didn’t want to hike property taxes, but he noted the extra costs the city is facing due to rising inflation and other concerns.

“Just fuel alone is a $5-million impact on this budget,” Clark said. “We know we have the policing pressures that we’re facing. Together, those alone add a $7-million increase over what we projected, while revenues are also down in transit, leisure services and parking, and inflation is up.”

Ultimately, Aebig argued, the route the City of Saskatoon is taking might not be sustainable in the long term.

“Rate-payers and our economy cannot keep pace with the growing size and spending priorities of the City’s budget,” Aebig said. “We believe solutions can be found.”