A report presented to the Finance Committee on Wednesday indicates the City of Saskatoon is on track to end the year with a balanced budget. The 2023 Mid-Year Finanancial Performance report states that $4.9 million will be saved through spending restrictions. This is the 2023 budget, not the budget for next year that the City has been grappling with to find savings and revenue opportunities.

Part of the savings in 2023 has come from pausing Full Time Equivalent positions for a few months, rather than filling them right away. City Manager Jeff Jorgenson says whenever there is a vacancy, the director and general manager review the suitability of that position, whether it needs to be a full-time position and if the job description is correct.

Expenses for snow and ice removal is projected to be $3.5 million under budget because there were no major snow events in January through the spring, although there was one in late December of last year, leading to the City enacting an Emergency Snow Event Response. Chief Financial Officer Clae Hack adds that city revenue affected by the pandemic including from leisure centres and Saskatoon Transit are bouncing back. At the beginning of the year, ridership was at 75 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels and now it’s at 90 per cent. Transit is expected to have a surplus of $2.3 million at the end of the year.