Property taxes are increasing in Saskatoon.
The mill rate will rise 3.86 percent in 2022 and 3.5 percent in 2023 after the city approved a new budget for the next two years on Wednesday.
The increase will cost the average homeowner an additional $ 6.27 per month next year and an additional $ 5.87 per month in 2023.
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Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer had sought to reduce the overall increase by half a percentage point.
“This is a very difficult year for our residents. Tougher than it has been in city hall, I guess I’ll put it that way, ”he said.
The administration always said they were trying to balance service delivery with the costs of COVID 19 as the tax rate increased.
City Manager Jeff Jorgensen said it’s impossible to cut that amount without cutting services.
He said things have reached a point that he would describe as a “budget service fee.”
“For every dollar spent on that budget, you are buying something very specific,” he said. “There is no room to cut without impact.”
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That may have swayed a majority of the councilors who voted against the decline.
Councilors approved most of the issues with little debate early on, essentially saving it all for Wednesday night.
They finally approved the 8-3 budget after 21 hours of deliberation.
The police will have 12 more employees in the next two years, officers who will help patrol the east side and office workers who will help reduce the workload of officers.
The fire department will obtain funding for five new firefighters, new statute inspectors, and several members of the administrative staff.
The Public Library, Remai Modern, SaskTel Center and TCU Place got what they asked for: millions of dollars in funding.
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