Province drops latest budget

The Saskatchewan Party dropped the province's 2013-14 budget last week in the Legislature in Regina.

"Saskatchewan's economy is strong and our budget is balanced," said Finance Minister Ken Krawetz in a prepared release. "This budget also balances continued growth with meeting the challenges of that growth. It balances economic progress with social progress. And it balances the need to control spending with the need to make important investments in key areas."

Revenue is projected at $11.61 billion while expense is estimated to be $11.54 billion. The General Revenue Fund is projected to post a $64.8 million pre-transfer surplus and a surplus of $149.8 million is forecast in the Summary Financial Statements, taking into account all government operations including the Crown Corporations.

Yorkton Saskatchewan Party MLA Greg Ottenbreit said while the budget was a tighter one, the end result was a balanced one.

"I think it was very well thought out," he said.

Ottenbreit said there were tough decisions made in creating a balanced budget, so not everyone was happy.

"You never make all the perfect decisions to make everybody happy," he said.

Trent Wotherspoon, NDP Finance Critic was not as enamored by the budget, terming it "as a credit card budget," during a telephone press conference with rural media last week. He said the way the budget is laid out "really just lets the kids pay for it," adding that was "short-sighted."

Wotherspoon said Saskatchewan people should have expected better.

"Saskatchewan's economy is moving along really well," he said, adding the government should being doing better with such opportunity. " We do have this tremendous opportunity."

Locally, Ottenbreit said Yorkton fared well in the budget.

"Firstly there was the college announcement," he said. "Getting college approval finally came to fruition."

The one million allocated in the budget is targeted at final design and planning work, but Ottenbreit said most of that work "is pretty well done." He said college representatives were told at a pre-budget briefing "you can get your shovels in the ground as soon as you want."

Ottenbreit said the government is committed to additional building funding as required over the next two years.

Krawetz said another challenge identified in the government's Growth Plan is labour force development - ensuring Saskatchewan has a highly-skilled, well-trained workforce to meet the needs of a growing economy.

"We know affordability of post-secondary education is an issue for students," said Krawetz in the release. "That's why this budget increases direct student support funding by nearly $20 million or 20 per cent, to $117.4 million."

Wotherspoon said Kindergarten to Grade 12 education is an area of education overlooked in the budget.

"This budget really failed meeting the pressures of the classroom," he said, adding class size is a growing concern and is not even being discussed.

While lamenting the lack of budget dollars for basic education for youth, Wotherspoon said he was "very disappointed" as it related to funding for needed additional long term care spots for seniors.

"We see inaction on this front," he said, adding he wants to see "safe and dignified spaces" available to our "pioneers"

The City of Yorkton will see added dollars coming from revenue sharing of one point of the provincial sales tax.

Ottenbreit said the growing fund, and changes in the formula where 50 per cent of new dollars will be targeted to municipalities which are seeing the greatest pressures from population growth.

The changes will mean some $350,000 additional dollars to the City, said Ottenbreit.

In order to offset an average 67 per cent increase in property values over the past four years, the government is lowering education property tax rates on all classes of property to keep the impact of re-assessment revenue neutral overall. The new education mill rates will be 2.67 mills for agricultural land (reduced from 3.91 mills), 5.03 mills for residential property (down from 9.51 mills), 8.28 mills for commercial property (there were previously three higher rates), and 11.04 mills for the new resource property category.

Ottenbreit said when it comes to municipal property taxes, recent assessment changes will have an impact.

To alleviate some of that impact Ottenbreit said the government adjusted its established mill rate "so there will be no net increase," in the money raised for education from property tax. He said there will be some properties seeing small increases, while others will drop to achieve the balance.

Health regions are being asked to collectively trim some $54 million from their collective budgets

Ottenbreit said through programs such as LEAN, health regions have found many efficiencies, and he believes they can do it again.

"They are getting more money," he reminded, noting health spending is higher.

But Ottenbreit said even health has to make adjustments because annual 10 per cent funding increases simply are not sustainable because in time health would eat the entire budget.