The city’s finances and financial forecast are looking positive, according to the city’s top number cruncher.
Chief Financial Officer Darell Mathews presented an economic finance update for the 2022 to 2026 budget to the Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee, sharing that going into the presentation from the city’s point of view things are looking good.
“What you don’t want to see is deficits coming in overall,” Mathews says. “The nice thing about a four-year operating budget is we know what to expect going through and we are monitoring that along the way and it looks like those projections are working out in favour right now.”
During the meeting councillor Belinda Crowsen asked about the $1.4 million surplus that was part of the presentation for property taxes, with the city’s CFO explaining over the four-year budget cycle officials are projecting deficits later on because of lag when it comes to “economic realities on development and so forth”.
“So it will be balanced between the full four years. You can’t really spend it in one year, you have to look at the full four year period.”
Mathews adds the Bank of Canada reducing the bank rate is a positive thing for not just residents but the city because it shows inflation is expected to cool off.
“That means the prices of shelter and food will be within the normal range that we normally see not the increases that have gone on over the covid period.”
Looking forward to the next two years the city will be implementing the tax increases that were put in place and approved during the last budget deliberations. A 5.1 per cent tax increase will be implemented in both 2025 and another 5.1 per cent increase will be implemented in 2026.
