ESTEVAN - Estevan city council approved the 2024 budget at Monday night's meeting, following a discussion that included debate on a property tax increase and money allocated for the Power Dodge Arena.
The document passed by a 6-1 margin. Coun. Tony Sernick was the lone dissenter; he said there is a lot of good in this year's financial plan, but he said he couldn't support it because of a two per cent increase in property taxes, which is expected to generate $320,000.
"Although the two per cent doesn't seem like much, lots of inquiries that I had with mostly commercial property owners, they definitely don't want to see anything again," said Sernick.
It will be the first increase in property taxes since 2018, although some properties saw their taxes jump in 2021 as part of the city's response to the provincial reassessment.
Sernick pointed out the city has a surplus budget, will continue to pay down debt and has money in the bank, so he doesn't see the need for the increase. During the inquiries portion of the meeting, he added he had a lot of good discussions about the budget and the Power Dodge Arena in the past couple of months.
Other council members voiced support for the property tax increase. Coun. Travis Frank noted Estevan is the only city in the province that has not had a property tax increase in the past few years, even though the city's expenses keep going up.
Coun. Lindsay Clark added the two per cent increase allows the city to do the things they want to do in the upcoming year.
Coun. Kirsten Walliser said the city's administration and management team have scraped by, year after year, to ensure debt repayment remains a priority while offering the same level of service. They have had to worry about collective bargaining agreement wage increases for the city's staff and the Estevan Police Association, the rising costs associated with the carbon tax and more.
Coun. Rebecca Foord asked about the boards for the Power Dodge Arena, which carried a $250,000 price tag, as there have been discussions about the rink.
City manager Jeff Ward responded the money was still in the budget but won't be committed to a specific project until the discussion is complete, which is expected to be in February or March.
"This is something I now struggle with, since the conversations with the rink have come up, and just hearing some of the feedback from those rink conversations … I'm having a difficult time seeing that money sit in our budget if we're not going to do anything with it this year, and then still say we're going to increase our property taxes," Foord said.
Coun. Shelly Veroba recalled the condition of the arena boards was criticized before she joined city council in 2016.
"I remember teams coming down here from Regina and refusing to play in that rink because those boards were dangerous. I think if something happens and somebody gets hurt, there's a liability on the city if you know there's a danger there and you don't fix it," said Veroba.
She wonders if user groups still see the need for new boards now. If it turns out the boards aren't dangerous and don't need to be fixed, she's fine with not repairing them.
She also pointed out most of the projects in the 2024 budget have been on the city's agenda for some time.
Council first discussed the budget during a day-long meeting in early December. It was published on the city's website later in the month, giving the public a chance to voice their thoughts on the document.
In a report to city council, city manager Jeff Ward said "very little feedback" on the budget was sent to city hall.
He noted there was a recommendation from a citizen that the Perkins sidewalk be placed on the
north side of the street and run from Third Avenue to McDonald Road. That request was previously made at a council meeting in November.
Concerns were also expressed about the downtown revitalization project and how it would impact taxes to downtown businesses. Ward stressed the budget does not apply any increased levy to downtown businesses. One comment mentioned funds for that project should be used for small business tax relief.
"City administration would like to clarify that this project will only move forward with a significant grant contribution from the federal government," Ward wrote. "The only portion paid for by city funds would relate to replacement of the underground utilities. This is estimated to be about $1.5 million out of the total project cost of $8.3 million."
Another citizen indicated that small business taxes were too high and the 2021 reassessment caused some businesses to be unfairly adjusted. There was a request to reduce department budgets as well as cut third-party grant spending.
The city will pay down about $2.1 million in debt, and net long-term debt reduction is to be $1.2 million after borrowing. Long-term debt for the city is to be at $10.36 million at the end of 2024.
There will not be an increase in the water consumption rate on utility bills.
