City of Saskatoon still mulling over how to tackle $9M funding shortfall

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark confirmed the city is facing a funding shortfall of $9 million after the grants-in-lieu program was scrapped in March's provincial budget.

City council's governance and priorities committee held a special meeting last night to talk about how the city plans to move ahead in the face of the shortfall.

The shortfall is equivalent to approximately a 4.45 per cent property tax rate increase, though the city will not necessarily raise taxes, said city manager MurrayTotland.

In 2018, the shortfall is expected to grow to $12.1 million.

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Totlandsaid administration hasbeen working on developing a long-term plan to deal with the funding gap. He said more information will likely be released later this week.

Administration has also been talking to staff about the funding gap, to try and ease any anxiety around layoffs.

Meanwhile, Clark talked about a meeting he had with provincial cabinet members, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association and the mayors of Regina andYorkton.

Afterwards, the province reconsidered the cuts to grants-in-lieufor nine cities, but Saskatoon and Regina were not included.