Saskatoon council votes to hike property taxes by 3.93 per cent

Saskatoon city council landed on a 3.93 per cent property tax hike for 2023.

Administration proposed a 4.38 per cent hike, but council found more than $1 million in savings to reduce the rate.

The city passed the 2023 budget on Tuesday, the second day of budget deliberations.

“This is a good budget. It allows us to continue to provide the services our residents rely on and we’ve been able to bring the tax increase below four per cent,” Mayor Charlie Clark said after the meeting.

To bring down the property tax rate, council adjusted its forecasted fuel costs for city vehicles, including police.

Administration assumed the rate of $1.70 for gasoline, but with prices changing, Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer suggested the city reduce the assumed cost by 10 cents — resulting in $750,000 of savings from the 2023 budget.

“We had put in a contingency for fuel prices that’s really conservative and we brought that back down a little bit,” Clark said.

Council also reallocated money from Saskatoon Light & Power and cutting the special events reserve by about $70,000.

“Sometimes we have to make tough decisions,” Ward 10 Coun. Zach Jefferies said in the meeting.

Jefferies also tried to convince council to save about $25,000 by reducing hours at the landfill on statutory holidays, but it was rejected.

The 2023 figures are part of a multi-year budget, pre-approved by council last year. The numbers were adjusted to account for inflationary pressures, according to Saskatoon’s chief financial officer Clae Hack.

“I think city council did a good job over last past couple days to whittle down our tax approach and get to a number that balances those numbers accordingly,” Hack said.

The agreed upon property tax increase on Tuesday amounts to $6.53 more each month for the owner of an average Saskatoon home with an assessed value of $344,000.