There was a special Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday to review the City of Saskatoon’s 2022 and 2023 indicative budget, due to the economic pressures individuals, businesses and the City are facing, in particular because of an unprecedented pandemic. The goal is to set an indicative tax rate, which would be a starting point in the budget process, not the final tally.

To keep all City services and service levels the same as they are now, the estimated property tax rates presented at a Governance and Priorities Committee meeting in June, would be 5.96 per cent in 2022 and 5.42 per cent in 2023. There were no final decisions at Tuesday’s meeting. The Finance Committee has asked Administration to report back with strategic options to cut costs and check in with what Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg are doing.