News Releases

Saskatoon City Council last night concluded its budget review and discussions to approve the 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget. The City thanks all residents, organizations and business owners in Saskatoon who wrote in or spoke to City Council this week or in the weeks leading up to budget review.

Council approved property tax increases of 3.86% and 3.53% for 2022 and 2023, respectively. In general terms, a homeowner with a single-family detached home with an average assessed value of $344,000 would have a municipal property tax increase of $6.17 per month or $74.04 per year in 2022, and $5.87 per month or $70.43 per year in 2023. 

“This was one of the toughest budgets we have faced given the pressures of COVID and some of the issues we need to tackle to ensure the well-being of our residents today and into the future," said Mayor Clark. "This budget keeps our tax rate lower than the average over the last ten years while making key investments to support our recovery and ensure we will be a competitive and resilient city in a changing world. We are proud to still have one of the most competitive commercial property tax levies as reinforced by C.D. Howe last year.”

Notable Capital Investments Include: 

• $33.9 million in 2022 and $24.7 million in 2023 for upgrades and maintenance to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. 
• $41.2 million in 2022 and $52.0 million in 2023 for upgrades and maintenance to the Water Treatment Plant. 
• $32.0 million in 2022 and $33.0 million in 2023 for paved roadway and sidewalk preservation. 
• $10.5 million in 2022 and $46.3 million in 2023 for the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit system (contingent on ICIP Government Funding). 
• $2.64 million in 2022 for Transit and Access Transit Bus Replacement. 

Other operating and capital investment decisions over 2022 and 2023 support our growing and increasingly diverse city and include such items as:   

• new transit service to North Kensington and Aspen Ridge,  
• continued maintenance of roadways and pathways including snow grading on freeways and priority streets, 
• the maintenance of the City’s growing network of parks and open green spaces including pathways, and berms, 
• public engagement enhancement,  
• Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programs and initiatives – including the Office of the Representative of the Matriarchs and IWG2S Women’s Centre,   
• graffiti management,  
• an increase to the urban forestry and pest management capital reserve,  
• climate adaptation and green infrastructure advancement, and 
• recreation and sport facilities grants. 

“City Council adjusted and debated to arrive at a budget that continues to support the key civic services citizens expect, and balances addressing strategic priorities for the City,” says Jeff Jorgenson, City Manager.

“The Administration will now work hard to execute the direction of City Council and deliver the quality services and programs to the public we proudly serve,” Jorgenson adds. “There are ambitious cost-saving and service improvement expectations included in this budget, and we will do everything in our power to meet or exceed those expectations as our community recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This multi-year budget takes us forward having set a new standard for transparency.”

Weighing decisions against the vision of the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, the finalized 2022 and 2023 budgets support continued financial recovery for the City, promote growth for the community, and maintain quality of life and the needed momentum to keep the City moving forward sustainably.

Investing in Public Safety and Protection

City Council approved the Saskatoon Police Service budget which included resources to address the growth of the City and increase in calls for service with the addition of eight new Patrol Constables in 2022 and four Patrol Constables in 2023.

In addition, six positions were approved for 2022 to address items such as Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy requests (FOIP), technological crimes, Audio Video (AV) disclosures, investigations and major crimes were also included in the approved budget. The 2023 budget also includes four additional positions to address FOIP, AV disclosures, and investigations.

For the Saskatoon Fire Department, City Council invested $2.3 million in Next Generation 9-1-1 technology to enhance its Communications Centre. Council made further investments to replace major apparatus within the fleet, equipment, small vehicles, and uniform purchases, with $4.4 million over 2022 and 2023. Additional positions for firefighters were approved to support better response times for Saskatoon’s growing neighbourhoods, and for Fire Bylaw Inspectors as a proactive approach to property maintenance inspections. 

COVID-19 IMPACT

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic generates a high degree of uncertainty for fiscal planning. The City is estimating that the COVID-19 impact will be $13.85 million in 2022 and $10.02 million in 2023. These impacts are offset by one-time reallocated funding and do not affect the approved municipal property tax increases. 

Utility fees in 2022 and 2023 for water and wastewater usage include an overall average increase of 2.5% and 3.4% respectively, resulting in an additional $3.25 per month in 2022 and $4.63 per month in 2023 for the average homeowner.

Indoor Leisure Centre admission rates will increase by 2% in 2022 and 2023.  As an example, adult General Admission will increase from $9.80 to $10.00 in 2022 and $10.25 in 2023. The adult Monthly LeisureCard will increase from $50.00 to $51.00 in 2022 and $52.00 in 2023. 

In 2022, City Council will have the flexibility to make any necessary budgetary corrections for events or circumstances requiring funding or resource adjustments.

The City’s second Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget for 2022 and 2023 supports the City’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan’s vision, and investments in the priorities and services that matter most to citizens, ensuring Saskatoon continues to be a great place to live, work, learn and play.

The finalized 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget document will be made available on saskatoon.ca/budget as soon as it is available.

Saskatoon Transit encourages shoppers to hop on board Route 1225, the Jingle Bell Express and experience the convenience of shopping via transit. 

The Jingle Bell Express is Saskatoon Transit’s annual holiday shopping bus route. It runs from December 5^th to the 23^rd and again with free service on Boxing Day. This route stops at Midtown, Centre, Market, Confederation, and Lawson Heights malls every half hour, providing riders with a great shopping experience! 

“The Jingle Bell Express removes the hassle of driving, while providing riders with access to malls they may not otherwise visit,” says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit. “Regular fares apply except on Boxing Day when the Jingle Bell Express is free.” 

The Jingle Bell Express will be available weekdays from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and weekends from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. On Boxing Day, the Jingle Bell Express will operate as a free service between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For a virtual walk-through of the Jingle Bell bus, visit: https://youtu.be/X6FrrW3Uvfk.    

Everyone is reminded that masks are required on all transit buses and are encouraged to use the Transit App or Google Maps Transit to plan their trip, or consult the route schedule on Transit’s website. 

Jingle Bell Express riders can complete a short survey for a chance to win one of five $100 gift cards sponsored by the participating malls. 

Get your ‘shop on’ and hop on the Jingle Bell Express!  

For more information about Saskatoon Transit, visit saskatoontransit.ca or follow @StoonTransit on Twitter. Plan your route in advance using Google Transit or the Transit App on your mobile device. 

The City will start removing snow from residential streets beginning tomorrow (Dec. 2), beginning in the Haultain, Queen Elizabeth, and Lawson Heights neighbourhoods. This neighbourhood clean-up is in response to the severe snow accumulation in November that left many residential streets impassable. 

“Removing the large piles of snow from residential streets is going to improve our ability to safely navigate our neighbourhoods again,” says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Transportation & Construction. “We’ll all be happy to say good-bye those large piles of snow interfering in our sight lines and the availability of on-street parking in front of our homes. We also want to get as many of those obstructive piles of snow off sidewalks as we can—though this may take more time.”

Given the number of streets to cover across 66 city-wide residential neighbourhoods, the City is not attempting to achieve the same bare pavement conditions that we see on higher traffic priority streets. The end result in neighbourhoods will resemble a completed school zone with some non-hazardous snow piles remaining.

Since the snow accumulation is presenting safety and mobility challenges in all neighbourhoods, the order in which crews visit neighbourhoods is being determined at random and then balanced by ward to ensure progress is taking place equally across the city. A preliminary schedule will be posted to saskatoon.ca/snow in the coming days. As the first few neighbourhoods are completed, the City will be able to better estimate a schedule for the remaining neighbourhoods – please check the webpage for updates.

Residents will know when crews are coming to their neighbourhood when they see ‘No Parking’ signs go up along their street. The goal is to have these installed about 24 hours before the start of work. Similar to street sweeping, residents will need to move their vehicle off the street in advance of snow operations or their vehicle will be towed. This is to give equipment room to operate as well as to ensure the best result.

Other ways residents can help:

• Steer clear of crews and equipment while work is underway.
• Keep kids off snow piles and from building tunnels through snow piles; the piles can collapse, and the weight of that snow could be very dangerous.
• Remove any rubber driveway/curb ramps before removal on your street.  

This neighbourhood clean-up is in response to the severe snow accumulation in November that left many residential streets impassable for several days. Neighbourhood snow management is not part of our city's standard operations. Existing levels of service for winter maintenance will apply to future snow events. In neighbourhoods, this means City snow crews are sent to local roads when ice rutting impedes mobility (reaches 6” in depth).​  

The City has recently been informed that an employee working across three Leisure Centres (Lakewood Civic Centre, Saskatoon Field House, Shaw Centre) has tested positive for COVID-19. 

Due to the need to protect the privacy of the individual, the City cannot provide further details about the positive case. However, the positive case is unlikely to be linked to transmission within the workplace.

We understand this may cause concern for customers at these facilities and reinforce that the City has implemented many health and safety protocols and precautions to protect both employees and the public. This includes mandatory masks for employees and the public, proper hygiene, safety signage and markers, and acrylic barriers for some staff. This situation stresses the importance of the layers of protection the City has put in place to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in civic facilities.

Below are the affected facilities and time periods. If you were at any of these facilities during the time periods, it is always a good idea to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and stay home and call HealthLine 811 to arrange for testing if symptoms occur. 

As part of our already enhanced cleaning protocols, cleaning and disinfecting have taken place in all impacted facilities and areas since the positive case was identified.

It is our understanding that the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) will be following up and contacting individuals identified as close contacts as per their contact tracing process and providing information to them on the next steps. The City will support SHA in their contact tracing process as necessary. 

The City also has processes in place so supervisors can be aware of which employees need to be sent home if necessary or contact Health Line at 811 for further instruction. 

This positive case reminds us that we all have a shared responsibility to limit the transmission risk of COVID-19 in our community. Stay home if you are feeling unwell, follow all Public Health Orders and take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and others.