A report from Saskatoon City Administration, going to the Governance and Priorities Committee Tuesday, says the cost of the snow clearing from the December back-to-back snow events could be as high as $20 million. The cost is partly due to inflation for fuel and hourly rates. The report suggests other financial strategies are needed to fund the city’s snow response. Normally reserve funds are used but money in reserves is already going to address a projected $8.3 million deficit in 2022. City administration is now recommending Saskatoon City Council borrow the money to pay for the immediate cost of snow removal, and then add the cost of repayment to property taxes while building-in base funding to ensure there is money available for future weather events.
The unusually large dump of snow during the last week of December led to the city executing the Roadways Emergency Response Plan to clear the streets. If the city took the approach of adding the cost to property taxes, it would mean a levy of 0.75 per cent to property taxes each year for four years starting in 2024. The levy would also build up $8.4 million worth of base funding by 2029 which the report says, “could then be utilized for annual service level improvements as well as base funding/reserve contributions for the Snow and Ice Emergency Response Plan.”
How the Downtown Event Centre and Convention Centre will be managed is also up for discussion at tomorrow morning’s (Tues) Governance and Priorities Committee meeting, and it could include securing a private partner for capital funding. Administration, after consultation with experts, has four options: city-managed, run by a board similar to SaskTel Centre and TCU Place, third-party private management through a direct negotiation process or third-party private management obtained through a competitive procurement process.
Administration is recommending option four.
The report says securing a private partner to contribute capital funding would reduce the overall funding from the City. The expert, or Owner’s Representative, also recommends one management company for both facilities, and a single oversight Board that will represent City ownership of both facilities. Administration also notes that many cities which own event centres are moving towards private contracted management. If approved, the report will then be presented to City Council.
City Council is holding a special meeting Tuesday morning to rescind a resolution passed in November and to reallocate Transit funds to make sure Saskatoon is eligible for funding under the federal government’s One-Time Public Transit Funding Program. Saskatoon’s share of the one-time funding is around $6.5-million, and the province is matching that for a total of over $13-millon. The recommendation from Administration is for Council to approve the $13 million be used for transit operating shortfalls, and just over $6.5 million be reallocated from existing Transit operations to the Transit Vehicle Replacement Reserve.
That’s where the November resolution needs to be rescinded. Council had approved $6.5 million for five 40-foot buses and three 60-foot articulating buses to be funded by the Federal Support for Transit and Housing Program. A report to Council states that the challenge is the funding must be spent by March of next year, but ordering new buses can take more than 15 months, so that’s why administration has recommended reallocating the funds.
