NEW CITY HALL HIRES HOPE TO FIND SAVINGS
Saskatoon city council finalized the 2019 budget with a 4.4. per cent property tax increase on Tuesday. City hall reporter Phil Tank offers some of the highlights:
SPEND AND SAVE
The budget adds about 61 new employees, but several new hires added by city council on the final day of deliberations are supposed to produce savings in city hall operations.
Two new permanent positions at a combined new cost of $120,000 carry the title “performance improvement co-ordinator” and are intended to find efficiencies and fiscal savings. Another position, worth $110,000 a year, is called “organizational change management” and is supposed to help with a restructuring at city hall.
Council also backed $120,000 for an information technology position to help implement the city’s ongoing efforts to find savings. Coun. Randy Donauer said he wants to see proof the new hires are saving the city money.
HELP FOR COUNCILLORS
Council also voted 8-3 to hire an assistant — at a cost of $109,000 a year — to help them. Council added an assistant two years ago for $79,900.
Mayor Charlie Clark spoke in favour of the hire, pointing out that he will not benefit from the position. He said councillors are “buried” in email and scheduling obligations. Council also increased salaries for the mayor
and councillors by $122,000. The increase is intended to compensate for the elimination of a federal income-tax exemption for elected officials.
TAXING TREND
The final property tax increase of 4.4 per cent is just slightly below the 4.5 per cent hike proposed by city administration in October.
Over the past five years, Saskatoon property tax increases have averaged 4.5 per cent or an accumulative 22.31 per cent. This year’s tax increase of 3.79 per cent was decreased by council after the province restored some grants from Crown corporations that the Saskatchewan Party government unexpectedly slashed in 2017.
SNOW JOB
The dream of a city-wide snow removal program continues to melt away. Council approved a $200,000 increase for snow and ice management in 2019, despite an original proposal of $350,000 more. Coun. Troy Davies tried to reduce the increase to zero after hearing plans for the money, saying he could not support any increase that did not involve “pushing snow.”
Three years ago, the previous council overwhelmingly backed eight years of property tax increases to move toward city-wide snow removal. Council opted to defer a $1.12 million increase in spending on snow and ice in 2017 in response to a surprise cut in provincial revenue.
Council also decided to defer the snow and ice spending in this year’s budget before reducing the increase for next year. Citywide snow removal requires an estimated $9.6 million a year in operating costs, but that would only cover two removals every three years.
BUS BUCKS
Robert Clipperton of the Bus Riders of Saskatoon lobby group appeared before council to ask for more money for transit. He called the introduction of new routes with high-frequency service a “resounding success.” He also pointed out the hybrid system had created some difficulties.
Clipperton read out complaints he’s heard from residents, along with the ward where they live.
“I just thought it was important that people who don’t ride the bus all the time hear about the trials and tribulations of those who do,” he said.
Saskatoon Transit director Jim Mcdonald said bus rides had increased 8.6 per cent this year over the same period as last year. That means 3,000 to 5,000 more people were riding the bus in September, Mcdonald said.
Council approved spending $200,000 more in 2019 and rejected an attempt by Coun. Darren Hill to reduce the increase by half in a 6-5 vote.
BUDGET BUILDING
The city adopted a new approach to the budget this year that gave city council the opportunity to set its spending priorities earlier. The administration produced a report in June based on council priorities and council whittled the spending down in August. That should have made this year’s budget talks shorter, right?
At 16 hours over two days, this year’s deliberations actually took about three hours longer than last year.
Mayor Charlie Clark expressed exasperation at the number of questions asked and clarifications sought by councillors. Voting on a slate of spending priorities seemed especially awkward and confusing.
On the second day of talks, council got contentious when Coun. Ann Iwanchuk, Coun. Mairin Loewen and Coun. Sarina Gersher took offence to criticism about their support for certain initiatives.
LAST TIME
If you’re tired of traditional city hall budget talks, there could be some good news on the horizon. This year’s one-year budget for 2019 is supposed to be the last of its kind.
The City of Saskatoon is expected to move to a two-year budget covering the years 2020 and 2021. Will that mean twice the fun, or budget talks that last twice as long ?