Saskatoon Tuesday budget meeting could see range of cuts to services – Saskatoon | Globalnews.ca
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The City of Saskatoon is back on the cutting room floor Tuesday to see what needs to hit the chopping block to reduce a funding gap that will affect property taxes in the next two years.
Transportation, community support, Saskatoon fire, environmental health, taxation and general revenues, land development, arts, culture and events venues, recreation and culture, urban planning and development and full-time equivalent reports will all be discussed during budget deliberations.
City administration noted that estimates are being further refined regarding the budgetary gap, adding that after the decisions made at the July 25 special budget meeting the gap sits at $26,161,450 in 2024 and $19,328,650 in 2025.
That equates to a 8.92 per cent property tax increase in 2024 and a 6.01 per cent increase in 2025.
A total of 16 different options were given regarding the transportation business line to help trim the fat.
Some of these options included the elimination of the seasonal decoration program, adjusting Saskatoon Transit levels, increasing bus fees or parking fees, and cutbacks on snow and ice management.
Several options were given regarding the community support line, and could result in increases to fees regarding pet licensing and cemetery rates.
Other cuts within the community support line could see a reduction to community grants and investments, donations and economic incentives.
Saskatoon fire could see a deferral of new property tax-funded positions, mainly the asset management and communications consultant positions.
Those deferrals could branch out to an operations dispatch manager position, but could also affect fire bylaw inspectors and firefighters.
Eleven options were given regarding the environmental health business line.
This could result in the closure of the East compost depot, adjusted hours of operation for the landfill, discontinuing the Christmas tree drop-off sites, and an extension of the tree pruning cycle.
A few options regarding the taxation and general revenue business line could come with a reduction of the Interest Stabilization Reserve Transfer, an increase to fees for tax certificates and tax searches or an increase to overdue fees regarding property taxes.
The land development business line shows three options to cut costs and could see an increase to lease revenue, a reduction to the land maintenance program and the creation of additional billboards to generate more funding.
Within the arts, culture and events venues business line, the city has options to reduce or stop the phase-in of the Civic Buildings and Comprehensive Maintenance contributions for the Remai Modern as well as possible changes to operating grants that could affect TCU Place and the Remai Modern.
A total of 14 options were given to create cuts within the recreation and culture business line and could see the elimination of cross-country skiing trail setting services, a reduction to park maintenance, a reduction to public skating hours, reducing youth centre programs and other options that could affect summer programs, spray pads and outdoor pools.
The urban planning and development business line could see reductions to the corridor planning operations funding, but also the public housing subsidy.
The agenda also dives into full-time equivalent municipal comparisons, the impacts of a hiring freeze or not adding new staff, a temporary workforce report, as well as a comparison of the growth in federal, provincial and municipal operating budgets.
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