The timing for a new report by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) was a little ironic from a local perspective.
Three days after the City of Estevan released its audited financial statements for 2022 – which were discussed in last week's Mercury – the Canadian Taxpayers Federation published a document releasing the audited financial statements for Saskatchewan municipalities for 2020 and 2021.
The report not only has the audited financial statements for all Saskatchewan municipalities for those two years, but it showed how these municipalities compare in one particular area – total municipal expenses per capita.
In the case of Estevan, it was fourth-highest among the 14 Saskatchewan small cities at $2,932 per person in 2021. The Energy City's ranking will no doubt be a source of discussion and frustration for some in the community who want lower property taxes and utility rates.
It should be noted that this was the year in which Estevan completed the integrated sidewalk and pathway system that has received much praise from people in the community. Even if the money that the provincial and federal governments provided Estevan isn't factored into the CTF's findings, without this money, the pathways project wouldn't have proceeded. The city had to contribute a considerable amount of its own money to make it happen.
But these reports always make for an interesting read. The audited financial statements for the City of Estevan are reported each year, and the results can be found with a simple Google search. But it is intriguing to see how Estevan shapes up. And it's good to have someone tally up the numbers to find out how much the average person spends each year.
Years ago, another lobby group, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, would deliver its property tax gap document. It was a must-read for many. And it certainly grabbed council's attention.
Some years Estevan did very well in the report. Other years it did not. It depended on whether the gap between residential and property taxes was a priority for council.
If Estevan was near the top, council touted the document. If Estevan was close to the bottom, council looked for holes in the findings.
But the property tax gap was also a fairly complex formula. This one from the CTF is not. Take the expenses, divide it by the population, and see how communities stack up.
There are things you would like to know, such as whether federal and provincial grants are factored in, because those will have an impact on the outcome regardless.
With all of the documents posted in one section, it allows people to see how municipalities compare on such fronts as net debt, long-term debt and annual surpluses.
There are some things to note with this report.
One, we're talking about audited financial statements for 2021, not 2022. You're dealing with numbers that are nearly 18 months old. A lot has changed since then. And while you're not likely going to see a big shift, a municipality might move up or down two or three spots in a year. (Estevan city council has held the line on the municipal portion of property tax the past couple of years, while other communities need a sizable property tax increase due to the impacts of inflation).
Next, the CTF is critical of the provincial government for not posting the audited financial statements of municipalities, which the government said it would. We're not sure how hard it would be to do this, but it would be rather time-consuming.
If the province ever does post these documents, then it will be interesting to see if the CTF continues to release these numbers.
It's also been difficult for the CTF to get these numbers. They had to go through the Freedom of Information Act to secure them. And it's never a good look when somebody says they had to go through that process to get the data they need.
As we said last week, the city and city council have done a good job over the past decade of improving the city's fiscal position. At the same time, more work could always be done.
The more transparent municipalities and other governments are, the more informed the public will be, and the more likely people will be to give credit where it is due for finances.
