Winnipeg 2018 budget to be unveiled Nov. 22

Mayor Brian Bowman will unveil Winnipeg's spending plans for 2018 onNov. 22.

The City of Winnipeg has scheduledthree weeks of councilcommittee meetings to unveil and debate the 2018 operating and capital budget, according to a news release to be issued today.

The mayor and council finance chair Scott Gillingham(St. James-Brooklands-Weston) will present the draft budget at a special meeting of council's executive policy committee on Nov. 22, according to the release.

A final council vote is slated forDec. 12.

• Council finance boss mulls Winnipeg Transit fare hike above 5 cents

Bowman and Gillingham have warned the budget may include cuts to Winnipeg Transit routes as well as fare hikes above the usual five cents, mainly because of the end of a provincial agreement to cover half of transit's costs.

The budget could also include other fee hikes, as Bowman has committed to keeping his 2014 campaign pledge to limit property-tax hikes to 2.33 per cent annually,a rate that has not kept pace with the city's spending demands.