Saskatoon city manager pours cold water on talk of homelessness levy

Any notion of a possible homelessness-related levy appears to be off the table, at least for now.

During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois asked the administration two questions.

“Is the city considering a homelessness tax? And, why was it on the survey question with specific amounts… and who decided to put that in the survey?” she wondered.

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The question was posed to 398 people in the 2025 Saskatoon Civic Satisfaction and Performance Survey between July 11 and Sept. 2, 2025. A subsequent report presented at the Nov. 12 Governance and Priorities Committee meeting included the following: “Nearly 4 in 5 respondents (78 per cent) said the City should allocate more resources to address homelessness. When asked what amount respondents would be willing to pay each month to support initiatives that address homelessness, 63 per cent would be willing to pay some amount, while 37 per cent would not be willing to pay.”

The report indicated that four options for payment were provided, ranging from less than $5 per month to $15 per month or more.

Mayor Cynthia Block also asked listeners on the Evan Bray Show in early October about a very similar topic.

“Would people be willing to pay extra for having a housing and homelessness levy?” she asked on the Evan Bray Show, adding that there could be “big increases” and suggesting that “something different” may have to be done to address increasing and chronic homelessness in Saskatoon.

But Jeff Jorgenson, Saskatoon city manager, said a levy or additional tax is not in the works right now.

“I would say no, the city has not considered a levy or a dedicated tax for homelessness. Nor do we have direction from council to even report on the matter,” he told Dubois.

Jorgenson said administration did report on “fundraising opportunities,” including those associated with a future navigation hub — a “one stop shop” building where those who are homeless can access identification services, showers, laundry facilities and other care during previous committee and council meetings.

“The premise was, could there be a capital campaign or something similar that the city could consider for people who wish to donate to homelessness,” he added.

As far as the survey question, Jorgenson said he was the one who directed staff to “dig into” and find out what residents thought about homelessness.

“The questions around funding, or funding for homelessness — we’ve never considered any kind of a dedicated tax or levy. Really, those questions were intended to gauge what are people’s views about the city investing in homelessness,” he said.

During the North Saskatoon Business Association luncheon on Nov. 18, Block also said no levy was being discussed at this time.

“I think it is fair to say that we are unlikely to move anything forward quickly, and that we would want to take some time to fully understand,” she told reporters following the event.

She added that if or when it becomes something to consider, there would be a “long runway” to talk about it.