City has yet to formally apply for funds

The Saskatchewan government is continuing to dole out cash under its new $150-million municipal infrastructure funding plan, and has now approved almost 200 projects across the province.

Worth a combined $21.4 million, the list features a $1.7-million police building in Estevan, a $2.3-million underground water line project in Prince Albert and a $150,000 BMX bike track in Martensville.

Smaller municipalities across the province are using their shares of the cash to buy vehicles and other equipment, upgrade infrastructure and build playgrounds.

Examples include a backup generator for Melfort’s multi-use facility ($12,339), a new fire tanker truck for the Rural Municipality of St. Peter ($55,000) and a tractor for the Village of Gainsborough ($36,507).

The City of Saskatoon, however, will have to wait a little longer to find out if a plan to spend its $35.5-million allotment under the program will receive the province’s approval.

City council approved the plan to put the bulk of the cash into the paved roadway reserve, freeing up $12.1 million for projects and $15 million to cover the annual deficit, at a meeting late last month. The remaining $8.4 million is earmarked for sidewalk rehabilitation, a downtown festival site and roadside safety improvements.

The formal application to receive the funds has not yet been sent to the provincial government. It is expected before the July 17 deadline for applications to the twoyear funding program.

The provincial government hasn’t commented on Saskatoon’s proposal, as it has not received an application, but city officials have said they believe the plan is within the program’s rules.

A provincial government spokesperson said that while timelines vary, projects have on average been approved within a month.

Saskatoon’s annual budget shortfall was most recently estimated at $13.8 million, following a host of emergency measures aimed at cutting expenses and finding savings approved by city council.

Municipalities are not allowed to run deficit budgets; any year-end shortfall must be made up the following year by cutting planned expenditures or raising property taxes.

The province launched the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program in early May as part of a $2-billion infrastructure funding program that Premier Scott Moe described as an economic “booster shot.”

The pandemic has already blown a hole in the province’s books, with an annual deficit pegged at $2.4 billion and public debt rising, in part due to the borrowed infrastructure dollars, to $24.4 billion.