City CFO ‘hopeful’ $15M will cover 2020 shortfall
Province is reorganizing infrastructure budget to redirect cash to Saskatoon
Saskatoon’s chief financial officer says he is optimistic that $15 million in redirected provincial infrastructure funding will be enough to plug the pandemic-sized hole in the city’s finances.
While city hall’s latest financial projections are still being finalized, Kerry Tarasoff told a council committee on Monday that is a “fairly reasonable” estimate of how much will be required.
“I’m hopeful that we are in that range,” Tarasoff said.
That appeared to please council’s governance and priorities committee, which voted unanimously in favour of city hall’s plan to spend $35.5 million in Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP) funding.
Under that proposal, $27.1 million of the total will be directed into the paved roadway preservation reserve, freeing up $15 million already in the fund to cover any shortfall or reduction in other reserves.
“I’m not wanting to stick this to the taxpayer next year,” Coun. Bev Dubois said.
“The goal is to keep people working … not just for 2020, but for next year, as well,” Mayor Charlie Clark added of the plan to avoid potential future reductions in capital spending.
Because municipalities are not permitted to run deficits, any shortfall would have to be made up through spending cuts, reduced contributions to reserve funds or increased property taxes next year.
“You have to find money,” Tarasoff said.
“It would be our administration’s desire to do (what) we can to make sure there’s not an increase in taxes,” he added of city hall’s strategy for dealing with the financial implications of the pandemic.
The provincial government unveiled MEEP, a $150-million per capita cash injection to municipalities, last month as part of a broader $2-billion economic “booster shot.” The province is staring down a $2.4-billion “pandemic deficit.”
The city’s worst-case annual deficit was last estimated at $32.9 million, though it has been noted the provincial government’s plan to reopen the economy is moving forward faster than initially expected.
The committee on Monday approved city hall’s plan to spend the remainder city’s MEEP allocation on several other projects, including sidewalk rehabilitation, a permanent downtown festival site and roadside safety improvements.
The mayor and 10 city councillors then voted on a variety of projects to be funded using the remaining $12.1 million freed up by directing MEEP dollars into the paved roadway preservation reserve.
While several ideas put forward by city hall — including millions of dollars for two new fire stations to avoid having to borrow the money — failed to make the cut, the committee added $2 million for a new fire training facility to the long list of projects.
Saskatoon Fire Chief Morgan Hackl has said that is the department’s top infrastructure priority.
The committee also added to the long list millions for the West Central Multi-use Corridor along the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. line on the city’s west side, as well as the redevelopment of the old bus barns in Caswell Hill.
Councillors also voted to defer requests for funding from the Saskatoon Police Service, the Remai Modern, Sasktel Centre and TCU Place on the grounds that not enough information was available.
Coun. Randy Donauer proposed $5 million for sidewalk repair and $500,000 for a pedestrian and cyclist crossing above Canadian National Railway Co.’s track at Warman Road and Assiniboine Drive.
Coun. Ann Iwanchuk put forward $800,000 to improve the intersection at 22nd Street and Confederation Drive, which she suggested is the “worst intersection in the city.”
All three made the long list. A variety of smaller projects also made the list, the total cost of which is almost twice the $12.1 million available budget, meaning the committee will have to further reduce it by almost $12 million.
“We obviously have our work cut out for us at the next meeting,” Clark said.
Those talks are expected to occur at the committee’s next meeting in July after several councillors requested additional information about projects on the list put forward by city hall.
It would be our administration’s desire to do (what) we can to make sure there’s not an increase in taxes.