It was a tough budget for the City of Melfort as they sought to fill an additional $255,000 that was removed by provincial government cutbacks.
The response of the city was to increase the amount of taxes it gathers from citizens by 4.07 per cent to raise a total of $5.6 million, and enact $284,000 worth of cuts in the general operating budget compared to last year's budget. The budget was passed at a special council meeting May 4.
Rick Lang, Melfort’s mayor, said the budget was almost ready before the cutbacks in the provincial budget, which required the city’s staff to find cuts to ensure the tax increase was reasonable.
“They took a little bit of money out of some different programs that they felt they could do and not impact the service delivery for the City of Melfort to any great degree,” he said. “What we have now is we have some minor cuts to some areas and some of them are sustainable, some of them will have to be added back into the budget next year.”
The original tax levy increase after the provincial budget was around 10 per cent.
Taxes
| Base Tax (improved property) | Mill Rate Tax | |
| Residential | $662 | ~0.607% of assessed value |
| Condo | $472 | ~0.702% of assessed value |
| Agriculture | $662 | ~0.418% of assessed value |
| Multi-Family | $662 | ~0.978% of assessed value |
| Commercial/Industrial | $662 | ~1.854% of assessed value |
A homeowner in Melfort will pay a base tax of $662, plus approximately 0.607 per cent of their home’s assessed value. For someone that owns a home assessed at $200,000, their municipal tax bill will be $1,876.75, an increase of $86.24 – 4.1 per cent.
A business owner will pay a base tax of $662, plus approximately 1.854 per cent of their business’ assessed value. For someone that owns a business assessed at $250,000, their tax bill will be $5,296.20, an increase of $263.19 – 5.2 per cent.
Condo owners will pay $472 in base tax plus approximately 0.702 per cent of their assessed value. Agricultural property owners will pay $662 plus approximately 0.418 per cent of their assessed value. Owners of multi-family units will pay $662 plus approximately 0.978 per cent of their assessed value.
Due to property being re-evaluated, some residents could see a larger increase in their tax bill, while others could possibly see decreases. It all depends on how a property’s re-evaluation varies from the city’s average.
Cuts
| 2017 Budget | 2016 Budget | Change | |
| Debt Servicing, Tax Expenses | $121,077 | $154,731 | -$33,654 |
| General Goverment | $953,815 | $920,069 | $33,746 |
| Protective Services | $1,184,326 | $1,195,612 | -$11,286 |
| Transportation | $1,861,482 | $2,012,592 | -$151,110 |
| Cemetery | $21,820 | $30,815 | -$8,995 |
| Economic Development | $236,559 | $224,187 | $12,372 |
| Recreation | $2,052,850 | $2,177,632 | -$124,782 |
The city’s spending on its general operating budget has gone from $6.7 million to $6.4 million.
Only general government and economic development will see an increase in their budgets. The city’s protective services, transportation, recreation, cemetery and debt servicing budgets will see decreases.
Lang said the most obvious decrease was to its Main Street Melfort budget.
“The reason for that is in the provincial budget, the province of Saskatchewan basically said we’re not funding Main Street Saskatchewan anymore, not at the present time,” he said.
The city will keep on the program’s co-ordinator until September so that paperwork related to grants can be finished.
The mayor said there was something that hasn’t been affected.
“The one thing that we haven’t cut, though, is the money allocated to roads and sidewalks. We’ve actually increased those dollars in the budget,” he said. “Everything else was subject to cuts but not the roads and sidewalks maintenance money. That’s actually been increased.”
No changes to tourism, Spruce Haven – yet
The city has decided not to take any action just yet on a grant it gives to the Chamber of Commerce to promote tourism. Lang said that could change in the city's next budget.
“Right now, the chamber is still getting their $30,000 grant, but I think over the next 12 months we’re going to have to certainly review the efficiencies we’re getting from that money. Do we need to have so many groups involved in tourism? We need to find a better way, let’s put it that way.”
As for plans to develop Spruce Haven, the mayor said the city will go ahead with adding basic services on the site and a skateboard park, as they have been already tendered.
“Anything else is on the drawing board, still up for potential change, but I think the long-term plan is to develop that whole complex in a reasonable timeline, so that it’s affordable.”
Reacting
Lang said because of the provincial cutback, the city was reacting to the situation instead of planning in advance.
“You get some stuff thrown at you and you just try to deal with it,” he said. “The better budget’s when it’s proactive, you’re doing everything for a reason and it’s not complicated by anything else.”
