Moose Jaw budget projecting 3.82% property tax hike

The City of Moose Jaw’s administration is proposing a 3.82-percent property tax hike to keep up with expenses in the face of stagnant revenues.

The city’s preliminary 2019 operating budget was presented to city council this week. It foresees spending of $48.4 million to maintain the same programs and services.

That’s 2.5 per cent higher than in 2018. But with tax revenues predicted to flatline — with just 0.2 per cent natural growth — administration says it needs to raise the mill rate to make up the difference.

In a report to council, administration said revenues are stuck “due to poor economic conditions and continued commercial appeal losses.”

Administration called its proposal a “status quo budget.” Proposed spending increases stem mainly from inflation and provisions in collective agreements.

The police budget would go up 4.3 per cent from $10.7 million to $11.1 million. The fire department would see its funding drop slightly. The city said that’s mainly because of a reduction in the equipment reserve, and because wages are still indexed to 2014 levels.

The subsidy for Mosaic Place and the Yara Centre would fall by $125,000 — a funding drop of 18.8 per cent. That’s connected to a “reorganization in how the facilities are managed.”

Council recently dissolved the body charged with running those facilities, after years of turmoil and a serious personnel issue.

In an email response, city manager Jim Puffalt told the Leader-post the new governance model will bear “immediate benefits.” He pointed to the advantages of resource sharing and breaking down silos, predicting that will offset the costs of moving to third-party management for Mosaic Place.

He said contributions for Yara Centre, which will now be subsumed under the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, are expected to fall by half due to those same benefits and a reduction in administration costs.

The city’s capital plan details more than $240 million in spending over five years. But it also notes that needs outstrip available resources. That level of expenditure presents “extreme financing challenges for the city,” according to the budget documents.

As for the waterworks utility, administration says it will be proposing six-per-cent increases for each of the next three years. In its report to council, it says the high costs of watermain breaks are putting “financial strain” on the city.

Overall, the budget points to significant challenges in maintaining city infrastructure. In its business plan, the city’s engineering department said there is currently a “backlog of repairs that cannot be completed.”

Asset management has also been a major priority for the City of Regina in its budget proposal, which preceded Moose Jaw’s by a few weeks.

Regina’s administration is pitching a mill rate increase of 4.7 per cent, almost a full point higher than Moose Jaw’s. Regina city council is set to debate and vote on the proposal on Dec. 10.

Moose Jaw’s budget proposal will go through four public consultation sessions before heading to council for deliberations and a vote.