Although tabled until Jan. 11, the Operating Budget introduced at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday is one of declining revenues and tighter budget lines.
鈥淭he 2016 Operating Budget has proven to be one of the most challenging budgets the City has seen in decade,鈥� explained Shannon Bell, director of finance with the City.
Mayor Bob Maloney would agree with the level of difficulty.
鈥淚n my 13 years on Council this has been the most difficult budget process I鈥檝e went through,鈥� he said.
The Budget reflects a slower general economy.
鈥淭he City of Yorkton is committed to providing services that its citizens require while at the same time recognizing that we need to provide them in the most efficient and economical manner. All businesses need to react to economic downturns and the City is no exception. The 2016 budget has addressed the various lower revenue streams and has adjusted spending accordingly,鈥� stated the Report to Council.
Bell said operating costs continue to rise.
鈥淥ver the past three years the City has seen operating costs increase between four per cent and six per cent even though property taxes have only increased between one per cent and 3.2 per cent for operating purposes,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e recognize that large increases in property taxes cannot continue so
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Management was tasked with ways to conduct the same business in a different manner.
鈥淎s such we are presenting to Council today a 2016 City of Yorkton budget that would see a 3.9 per cent increase to property taxes, with 0.9 per cent going towards operations and three per cent going towards future capital projects.鈥�
With costs increasing, Bell said service growth is limited in the 2016 budget.
鈥淢anagement has prepared this budget with little increases to services being provided to the citizens of Yorkton. As the cost to providing the same services is greater than the cost of inflation this budget focuses on providing those same services more efficiently and at a reduced cost. By controlling our operating spending in all areas we are able to propose a 0.9 per cent increase in property taxes for the operations of the City,鈥� she said.
At the same time, Bell said revenues from several sources are expected to decline in 2016 including;
鈥� Municipal Revenue Sharing from the Province 鈥� amount is not known at this time but an increase is not forecasted
鈥� Court fine revenue is down $65,000
鈥� Building permit revenue is down $38,000
鈥� Business license revenue is down $10,000
鈥� Bylaw ticket revenue is down $14,000
And there are contractual cost increases to deal with as well, including an additional $138,000 for janitorial at City Hall.
The majority of this is for the RCMP offices as there are time restrictions of when cleaning can be done and the contractors must be screened under Federal security provisions to be in the area, detailed material circulated to Council.
Other service contract increases are $60,000 in the Parkland Regional Library Levy and $70,000 for the transit services contract.
Another unknown moving forward are new contracts with the City鈥檚 two unions.
鈥淎s of December 31, 2015 both the CUPE and the IAFF Union contracts will expire.聽 The City will begin negotiations and the actual increase to wages will not be known until that process is complete; however we have budgeted for a one per cent increase in all wages,鈥� detailed the report.
