Winnipeg forecasts modest budget surplus with help from unlikely source

The City of Winnipeg is on track to post a budget surplus at the end of the year, with help from an unlikely source.

Winnipeg's latest financial status update projects a $9.5-million surplus on its $1.08-billion operating budget, based on accounting from the end of September.

That modest surplus is expected to increase by the time the Dec. 31 accounts are added up.

• City of Winnipeg posts modest budget surplus for 2017

The largest source of the budget surplus so far is Winnipeg Transit, which has made headlines for its revenue woes in recent years.

Transit is forecasting a $7.9-million surplus at the end of the year, mostly because of higher-than-expected revenue from bus fares, says a report that goes before council's finance committee next week.

Transit ridership dropped in 2017 and the service expected that trend to continue, especially after Winnipeg instituted a 25-cent fare hike this year.

"In fact, ridership in 2018 has been stable compared to 2017 and is resulting in higher-than-budgeted fare revenue due to the fare increase," the report states.

This additional revenue is expected to cause political problems for Mayor Brian Bowman and council finance chair Scott Gillingham, who have been trying to lobby the province to resume inflationary funding increases for transit operations.

One hour after the report was published, Winnipeg's transit union called on the city to spend the surplus funds on transit-safety measures.

The province froze transit funding to the city last year at 2016 levels.