The City of Saskatoon’s proposed Operating Budget for 2019 is looking for a property tax increase of 4.5 per cent. For a home assessed at $371 thousand, that would raise taxes by about $7 per month. The city says the 4.5 per cent increase is enough to balance the city’s budget next year. The city says it will need $20.6 million more to operate services at a level citizens want.
To address inflation, the city proposes $3.5 million to the Saskatoon Police Service and another $7.1 million would address that for other civic services. To cover growth, the city wants to add another $1.1 million to the police budget and $5.8 million for other civic services. The Saskatoon Police Service is looking for an additional $4.1 million dollars for their 2019 operating budget due to the rise in operating costs.
Total expenditures for the budget come in at $511.3 million. The city says it expects the population here to increase by about 1 ½ times the size of Humboldt. Chief Financial Officer Kerry Tarasoff says, Saskatoon remains one of the fastest growing cities in Canada and we have to plan for that.
The 2019 Preliminary Business Plan and Budget Review is scheduled for November 26, 27, and 28th in Council Chambers.
[gw oct 24 2018]