Saskatoon 2nd day of city budget delves into events venues and tax ratios
Global News
The second day of Saskatoon's budget deliberations saw discussions around arts, culture and events venues, property tax ratios and capital reserve contributions.
Saskatoon budget deliberations continued on Wednesday, diving into the arts, culture and event venues business plan and budget as well as several general reports.
Tammy Sweeney, TCU Place’s CEO, said things haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic numbers yet, but there has been increased use of the convention centre and theatre.
The arts, culture and events venues business plan and budget for the next two years had two recommendations on the table: That the operating budget for 2024 totalling $9,873,100 in expenditures be approved and that the operating plan for 2025 totalling $10,155,600 in expenditures be approved.
Increases of $175,700 (1.8 per cent) and $282,500 (2.9 per cent) were projected for the business line.
Sweeney said they are seeing smaller national and international events and a lot of short-term bookings, noting larger events are booking six months ahead, rather than how they used to, booking 18 months to two years ahead of time.
Sweeney said the convention side may not be back to normal, but they are expecting a record year in the theatre, surpassing the past 30 years.
The budgets from the Remai Modern Art Gallery, SaskTel Centre and TCU Place encompassed in the recommendations were passed by council.
Next up were general reports, with city administration delving into topics like how inflationary pressures are affecting construction and maintenance in the city, full-time equivalent positions and reductions to the capital reserve contribution.
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