NORTH BATTLEFORD - It now appears one further budget session will be scheduled in North Battleford prior to the 2022 budget going to council Dec. 13.
After council wrapped up its deliberations as of its special Planning Committee meeting Nov. 18, the indication at the time was that the next step for the budget was for the budget to go to the Dec. 13 meeting for further discussion and a potential vote.
There now appears to be a change of plans. At Monday's council meeting, City Manager Randy Patrick told council they are looking at holding one more meeting Dec. 8 to discuss further budget items.
It seems likely this meeting will take the form of another special Planning Committee meeting. At this point the date is still tentative; further details will be made available once the meeting is scheduled.
At this point, administration has proposed a 6.74 per cent tax increase as well as a three per cent increase for utilities. Council has indicated it would like to see more information about potential savings to reduce the tax increase.
