SASKATOON’S 2018 PRELIMINARY BUDGET BY THE NUMBERS

Some key numbers from the City of Saskatoon’s preliminary 2018 budget, released Monday, with some equivalent numbers from 2017 in brackets:

4.96

per cent property tax increase (2017: 4.82 per cent)

$86.37

projected increase for an average assessed home worth $371,000

$491

million operating budget (2017: $477.7 million)

$295.4

million capital budget (2017: $261.4 million)

$1.14

billion total budget (2017: $1.1 billion)

29.7

new full-time employees (2017: 57.4)

5.73

new full-time employees for Remai Modern art gallery (2017: 7.19)

$5.47

million city contribution to Remai Modern (2017: $5.08 million)

9.25

per cent proposed increase in water/waste water rates (2017: 9.5 per cent)

5

per cent increase in Saskatoon Light & Power rates (2017: five per cent)

$6.1

million shortfall created by reduced provincial funding

$10.9

million overall shortfall

2.18

per cent property tax increase without reduced revenue from province

$1.2

million in increased spending on snow and ice management

3.6

per cent projected increase in gross domestic product in Saskatoon (2017: -0.8 per cent)

$411

million projected debt at end of 2017 (2017: $338 million)

$32

million spent servicing debt, although not all of this is paid through property taxes

70

per cent of the city’s capital budget is paid for through reserve funds

$40.6

million upgrade for water treatment plant

$27.85

million for upgrades to Gordie Howe Sports Complex, although only $5 million from city is being sought

23

per cent of budget goes to pay for police (2017: 23 per cent)