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By Shawn Slaght
Moose Jaw city council has passed its 2024 budget, which will include a 7.6 per cent municipal tax increase.
“This is one of the most unpleasant experiences in my life,” Mayor Clive Tolley said after Monday’s meeting.
The tax increase equates to $16.57 per month or $198.97 for the year for the average taxpayer.
The budget narrowly passed 4-3 with councillors Kim Robinson, Crystal Froese and Dawn Luhning opposed.
The tax increase will generate $2.7 million to make up for the shortfall to balance the budget.
The tax increase includes 4.66 per cent for the operating budget, which equates to $6.64 per month or $79.69 per year for the average property owner.
Municipal taxes increased 2.09 per cent for the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners budget, which added another $2.98 per month or $35.74 per year.
The Moose Jaw Events Centre added an additional 0.85 per cent to the tax increase.
Additionally, waterworks utilities will be going up four per cent and sanitary sewer rates are going up four per cent, so the average customer will see an increase of $5.35 per month or $64.20 per year.
It was a particularly difficult budget for city council this year as it had to make up for a $9-million deficit in the capital budget while keeping tax rates as low as possible.
“I’m not sure if I’m more unhappy about what we’ve cut or the fact that we’re at 7.6 and we’ve still made all those cuts,” said Coun. Jamey Logan.
“There’s a lot of great initiatives that were brought to us and I don’t think anybody around this table that doesn’t agree that there were some wonderful things brought to us and sadly we had to cut them.”
While many cuts were made, city council did pass motions to enhance the city’s insurance that added a 0.99 per cent tax increase, and the city will convert a parks staff member from seasonal to full-time with a 0.09 per cent tax increase. Additional forestry staff was reconsidered on Monday night and was repealed.
“Part of that was the insurance review, which I think, as a collective doing our due diligence, I certainly don’t think we would be wise to have not approved that one,” said Coun. Heather Eby.
Eby said she would rather have a 7.6 per cent increase than have no increase at all.
“We had to vote on a zero budget in 2020 and I regret that to this day because it did nothing and we thought it was going to be the saviour of the city for 2020,” she said. “It did nothing and so this one hurts, but to me zero maybe makes people happy for one second the morning they hear it on the radio, but after that it does nothing.”
Froese said this is one of the largest tax hikes she has seen as a councillor.
“This one has really been a struggle I feel in comparison to what we have. This is the highest tax increase that I’ve seen come forward since I’ve been on council since 2016,” she said.
The budget also includes $100 per taxable property or $100 for each dwelling in a multi-unit property for the waterworks infrastructure levy and $65 for a parks and recreation infrastructure levy.
There was also an increase in the garbage collection charges to $0.39 per month or $4.68 per year.
