Tank: New Saskatoon council lowers property tax hike … for now

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So far, so good for the most inexperienced city council Saskatoon has seen in 30 years.

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All must smell of roses in the city council chamber after the freshly elected government, including six rookie councillors, endorsed a reduction in the planned property tax increase and achieved the stated goal of veteran Coun. Bev Dubois to get the hike below five per cent.

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Council unanimously approved a tax increase of 4.96 per cent, down from the 5.6 per cent endorsed by the last council as part of the two-year budget that began with a six per cent increase last year for inflation-battered households.

Short of delivering a zero per cent property tax hike — which actually happened after Saskatoon voters elected seven new councillors in 1994 — it taxes the brain to imagine a smoother debut. That’s especially true since spending on police and snow response are both rising.

But the property tax increase, which was passed Tuesday and amounts to an extra $109.68 per year for an average single-family home assessed at $344,000, might only last a couple of weeks.

An arbitration award is expected this month for a new police contract, which could affect the hike, even though money has been set aside in the police budget to account for an anticipated increase in salaries.

Council will consider any needed changes this month once the board of police commissioners has approved the new pact, which will be determined by an arbitrator.

Despite that remaining hiccup, the budget reflects a lot of hard work over two years by both city administration and the previous council to get to this point.

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The original two-year budget — as revealed to the shock of many in June of last year — included inflation-driven budget craters of $52 million last year and $23 million this year. That would have translated to property tax increases of 18.56 per cent this year and 6.95 per cent next year.

But 4.96 per cent is still the second highest increase for Saskatoon in a decade and higher than the 3.5 per cent hike just approved in Calgary. Conversely, Edmonton found out this week it could be facing an eight per cent increase.

We also know that lower property tax increases can often mean higher costs in the future. And inflation means the same dollar amount is buying less, as seen in the reduced scope of projects for the same price like the new downtown library and the renovation of the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre.

So while residents might be cheering spending $1.6 million a year more on snow removal — to increase funding for the number of snow events from five per year to six — doing so after an unusually snowy November might be considered a little, uh, flaky.

Have folks already forgotten that last winter we barely had enough snow to make a snowball until January? Does paying that much more every year really make sense?

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Likewise, the increase in police funding, which is added to the increase approved last year, is taking place after an election campaign that featured mayoral candidates in particular trying to paint the city as a crime-ridden hellscape.

In fact, the number of calls to Saskatoon police declined three per cent during the first 11 months of this year compared to the same period last year.

And that happened in a city that added an estimated 26,000 people over the last two years — more than the populations of all but four cities in Saskatchewan — to boost the number of Saskatoon residents to about 308,000.

Plus the Saskatchewan Party provincial government announced funding for 24 new officers in its nearly futile attempt to hold onto seats in Saskatoon.

New Mayor Cynthia Block thanked the province for the funding, but added some cautious words of wisdom on crime, safety and homelessness after the police budget was approved.

“On the other side, if we’re going to think we’re going to police our way out of this, I think we will be sad about that,” Block said. “That will not yield the results.

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“The evidence and data is super clear that when people are safely housed, community safety goes up for everyone. When people are left vulnerable, that’s when we see the social behaviour issues; that’s when we see people feeling unsafe in our streets.”

Often, though, simple-sounding solutions like hiring more police prove easier to communicate with taxpayers and tend to get support.

Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

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