News Releases

Wrapping up the Sid Buckwold Bridge rehabilitation project and replacing aging water mains topped the list of construction priorities for the City this year. However, just as work was about to begin, the primary focus shifted to one that had not been anticipated by anyone.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we revised our 2020 construction plan to place the safety of our crews and residents at the forefront,” says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Transportation and Construction. “That meant postponing projects that required workers to enter homes to replace lead water service connections as we strictly followed all guidelines and public health orders.”

Dependent on provincial guidelines and public health orders, the City plans to proceed with water main and lead water service connection replacements in Caswell Hill, Riversdale and Nutana in 2021.

All other planned water main replacements continued, most notably on 8^th Street, Clarence Avenue and Avenue C. Schmidt says approximately 19 kilometers of water mains and sanitary sewer mains were replaced or rehabilitated – about the distance from Saskatoon to Martensville.

“Additionally, we continued to make significant progress toward improving the condition, safety and longevity of Saskatoon’s road and sidewalk network. Millions of dollars have been invested into Saskatoon’s most aggressive construction program since the establishment of a $61 million annual levy in 2014.”

To help reduce the impact to residents and to save on costs and improve efficiency, the City coordinated much of the road and sidewalk work at the same time as underground utility work.

“As for safety in our construction work zones, we are pleased to report that we’ve had zero life-threatening incidents this year,” says Schmidt. “There has been less traffic on our roadways due to the pandemic, but we also believe drivers are getting the message through our annual marketing campaign.”

Significant progress has been made on Saskatoon roads, sidewalks and water mains in recent years and the City of Saskatoon thanks residents for their patience and cooperation.

For more 2020 construction highlights, please see the attached infographics or visit saskatoon.ca/construction.

On Monday, October 18, the Administration will present a decision report to the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) detailing two options for the implementation of a utility for curbside residential garbage and the upcoming curbside residential organics program. The decision to rescind the November 19, 2018 resolution to fund both with property taxes came during the August 30, 2021 GPC meeting, where the Administration was asked to re-evaluate the funding model and present options on timing, phase-in options, and affordability options.

The two options are as follows:

• Option 1: January 2023 implementation of fixed monthly rates for both black cart garbage and curbside organics utilities.
• Option 2 (Recommendation): January 2023 implementation of fixed monthly rate for curbside organics utility and January 2024 implementation of variable rates for the black cart garbage.

This illustration provides a detailed comparison of both options, including the estimated financial impact on single-family households, condominiums, and non-residential properties.

“Funding these services through a utility is a step in the right direction, as it provides additional transparency of program costs and accountability to customers through a fair and justifiable rate.” says Angela Gardiner, General Manager, Utilities and Environment. “We have done a thorough comparison of both options and we feel that the variable aspect of Option 2 is most favourable as it increases the customer’s control over their costs and encourages lower usage of residential garbage services by providing financial incentives for waste diversion.”

The full report and attachments can be found here.

Progress updates and a decision history can be found at saskatoon.ca/curbsideorganics.

A Special Budget Review Meeting will be held tomorrow, Friday, October 15, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. The City’s Standing Policy Committee on Finance will consider four information reports.

At the Standing Policy Committee on Finance last Special Meeting on August 31, 2021, when considering the 2022 and 2023 Indicative Budget, it resolved that the Administration provide additional reports on:

1. Strategic Options to Reduce Expenditures 2022/2023 - information on strategic options to reduce expenditures for 2022 and 2023 to bring expenditures more in line with current revenue increases. This report provides service level reports that have been previously presented to City Council for consideration on whether there are service levels that could be adjusted to reduce expenditures in 2022 and 2023.
2. User Fee Guidelines and Cost Recovery - information on user fees policies and cost recovery for optimal revenue budget to address this question: is the City of Saskatoon’s user fees and cost recoveries set at an appropriate level to reduce the mill-rate impact of programs and services as much as possible?
3. 2021 Previously Approved Budgetary Items - throughout the year, City Council approved various initiatives that may have budgetary financial implications that extend into 2022 or later years. What is the effect on future budgets from the decisions City Council has made to date in 2021?
4. Comparative Analysis of Recent Budget Adjustments in Selected Canadian Cities - comparative data for 2020, 2021, 2022 for tax increases and/or forecast tax increases in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg with comment on significant initiatives in each municipality to reduce or hold tax increases.

Budget Process Timeline – Next Steps

• October 18, 2021: A list of prioritized Business Plan Options will be presented to the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC).
• November 2021: The 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan & Budget document will be released. 
• November 29, 30 & December 1, 2021: City Council 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan & Budget Review (deliberations) will take place.

Any decisions made at the October 18 meeting or the November GPC meeting that impact the property tax rate will be forwarded to the Business Plan and Budget Review meeting in November to be debated but will not be reflected in the preliminary 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan & Budget document.

For more information on the City’s multi-year budget process visit saskatoon.ca/budget.

Saskatoon residents report high levels of satisfaction with City services and their quality of life, two separate public surveys show.

“We’re glad to see that even in light of the pandemic, a healthy majority of those surveyed told us they continue to enjoy a good quality of life and are satisfied with the services the City provides for the community,” says Carla Blumers, Director of Communications and Public Engagement. 

Results of the 2021 Citizen Satisfaction & Performance Survey and the 2021 Performance, Priorities & Preferences Survey will be presented to the Governance and Priorities Committee at its meeting Monday, October 18. The surveys were conducted by Forum Research Inc. this past spring and summer, respectively, and each included a telephone survey, an online panel and an open survey link available to the public on the city website. The results of the telephone and online panel for both surveys are reliable and representative of the population due to the random selection process. When compared to the 2016 Canadian Census, this sample is reflective of the Saskatoon population, based on age and gender.

“After all that we’ve been through in the last few years, it’s encouraging to see that while we know that there are still areas to improve upon, overall, Saskatoon citizens continue to be satisfied with their quality of life, services, and the handling of and communications throughout the pandemic,” says Mayor Charlie Clark. “This speaks not only to City of Saskatoon staff, but to the community as a whole for their contributions in making Saskatoon a great place to live. The results of these surveys are a testament to the ability of our staff and City to adapt in an increasingly changing world.”

Results

Citizen Satisfaction & Performance

Telephone and online panel respondents of the Citizen Satisfaction & Performance Survey identify COVID-19 as the single most important issue facing the City of Saskatoon. This is followed by public safety/crime/policing, road maintenance, and taxes. Of note over the last several years, the mention of road construction has steadily diminished as a most important issue.

While half of respondents indicate COVID-19 has affected satisfaction with the quality of services the City of Saskatoon offers, 88% of telephone and 87% of online panel respondents express overall satisfaction with the quality of services provided by the City of Saskatoon.

City communications receive a strong endorsement with 85% of telephone and 71% of online panel respondents reporting the City provides timely and helpful information on impacts to civic services during the pandemic. And three-quarters of respondents (78% telephone and 73% online panel respondents) indicate the City provides a safe environment to access City facilities and services as the pandemic has allowed. When asked about the quality of City communications, 80% of telephone and 87% of online respondents indicate they are satisfied with them.

Turning to public engagement, 76% of telephone and 77% of online panel respondents say the City provides meaningful opportunities to participate in public engagement opportunities. Evaluations related to five areas of customer service improved significantly from 2018, particularly when it comes to providing consistent and reliable information.

Respondents overwhelmingly agree (91% telephone and 90% online panel) the City is effectively providing online services. Approximately one in three respondents (36% of telephone respondents and 32% of online panel respondents) feel that a combination of property tax and user fee increases is the best approach to balancing the budget.

Civic Services, Priorities & Preferences

Overall satisfaction remains the same or higher since 2018 for many of the 29 civic services included in the survey. Survey participants note their highest level of satisfaction with the City’s performance in each of the below areas of service as follows:

Transportation & Utilities:

1. reliability of electrical services
2. quality of drinking water
3. speed of water main break repairs

Community & Public Services:

1. fire protection
2. maintenance of city parks
3. police services

Waste Management:

1. garbage collection
2. recycling collection
3. landfill services

Recreation & Culture:

1. indoor leisure centres
2. outdoor sports fields
3. paddling pools & spray parks

Telephone and online panel respondents note they would like to see the City’s existing performance improve in the areas of:

• snow & ice road maintenance
• major road and freeway maintenance
• traffic management
• neighbourhood street maintenance
• accessibility of infrastructure for people with disabilities
• planning for growth and development

The top three areas that telephone and online panel respondents indicate they would like to see the City provide more services for are:

• affordable housing
• road maintenance
• snow and ice management

“City of Saskatoon employees deserve great credit for the increased approval in communications and customer service,” Mayor Clark says. “We’ve seen employees become more adaptable than ever imagined in the last two years. This has allowed them to engage with residents in new ways as well as create more efficient ways to provide services. Participation from residents in these surveys is critical to highlight areas of strength, but also areas where improvement is still needed to deliver the results our residents come to expect. The lessons learned will allow the City of Saskatoon to better meet the expectations of residents now and in the years to come.”

The City of Saskatoon will use the results to inform decisions related to strategic priorities, budgeting, and service delivery, as well as to highlight opportunities for continuous improvement.

Previously scheduled to be conducted in 2020, both surveys were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, each survey will be conducted separately every year on a rotating basis. In 2022, the Civic Satisfaction & Performance survey will be conducted. In 2023, the Civic Services Service: Performance, Priorities & Preferences will be conducted.

Full summaries and the detailed results of both the Civic Satisfaction & Performance Survey and the Civic Services Performance, Priorities & Preferences Survey can be found on the City of Saskatoon website at https://www.saskatoon.ca/engage/2021-civic-surveys.