Councillor wants residents to get rebate as Saskatoon projects $10.9M utilities budget surplus

The City of Saskatoon says it's expecting a $10.9-million utilities budget surplus at the end of 2023 — and one councillor wants some of that money to go back to residents.

The city is reporting higher budget revenues in wastewater ($1.7 million), water ($4.8 million), Saskatoon Light and Power ($785,900) and waste services ($1.2 million), according to a governance and priorities committee report, set to be discussed by councillors next week.

The city says the plan would be for that money to be added to reserves for utility operations and capital projects for infrastructure gaps, if the surplus holds to the end of the fiscal year at the end of December.

Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill argues money from the surplus should return back to residents as rebates.

"If we had made that big of a profit on the utilities, we are pricing the utilities too high and we need to return that as a rebate to the citizens of Saskatoon," he told CBC Thursday.

Hill said he's considering moving a motion to council to give all of the surplus back to the residents. 

"Anything is possible — it just depends whether there's the will of a total of six councillors to make it happen and whether the will of the administration is there to tell us that it's able to happen," he said.

The City of Saskatoon is also projecting about a $3-million operating budget surplus, including hiring and spending freezes.

While it's possible to use the surplus to lower the 2024 property tax hike for Saskatoon residents, the city's chief financial officer says that wouldn't be prudent.

"It's the equivalent of using a personal savings account to pay for your groceries or mortgage payments. It'll help you out in the short term, but once that savings is gone you'll actually be in a worse position," Clae Hack told CBC on Thursday.

"It's just not a sustainable solution — to look at one-time funding sources to offset ongoing operating expenditures."

There are a handful of projected surpluses and deficits across city budget lines, according to the report, including a $6.5-million surplus in city transportation, largely because there have been no major snow events so far this winter.

There was also a noticeable $2.3 million recreation and culture surplus, mostly because of lower expenses at the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre, which has been temporarily closed.

Hack said it's likely administration will recommend councillors move the $3 million into a reserve fund, especially after draining much of the reserve to manage a previous deficit.