Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block spoke about police, homelessness, snow removal, and what changes residents can expect from an updated budget.
Mayor Cynthia Block says she’s proud of the new city council for working hard to find savings in the 2025 budget while still investing in core services.
Last week, taxpayers were facing the prospect of a 5.84 per cent property tax increase, which was then whittled down to 5.2 per cent by administrative staff. By the time city council was done with it, the tax increase had dropped to 4.96 per cent.
Block said she’s impressed by how hard the new councillors have been working to get up to speed.
“I’ve seen them talking one-on-one, asking questions and relying a lot on the leadership of the existing councillors … to be able to fill in the blanks enough to make sure they are solid in understanding what is going on,” she said.
It was clear the new councillors were catching up based on the types of questions that were lobbed during council’s budget meeting, she added.
While the police budget was increased by $1,640,000 to pay for things like equipment for 37 new officers, some aspects of that budget could return to council due to contract negotiations with the police union.
“I’m not certain where that’s headed,” Block said. “I don’t sit on the (police) commission, and I’m looking forward to getting up to date and briefed as soon as possible.”
Residents can expect to see changes in Saskatoon on issues that were highlighted during the civic election when candidates were door-knocking, Block said.
“People want to ensure that we are focusing on homelessness.”
More work needs to be done to get to the point where the city can be proactive in its approach, Block said, adding that she was pleased to see council supporting the two additional fire inspector positions requested by the fire department.
Block reiterated her belief that support for the people involved needs to be paired with the additional police and fire response.
“If we don’t also have a full plan to support the ways we get out of the social behaviour concerns residents are seeing, I worry that we can’t police our way out of it.”
Improving community safety requires other resources, she said.
“The research is very clear that when people are safely housed, community safety goes up for everyone. When people are vulnerable, they are prey for gangs and other criminal organizations of various types.”
Speaking about the additional money council dedicated to snow and ice removal — a $1.6 million boost — Block said the city needs a better level of service in residential neighbourhoods.
While the majority of the budget increase was needed to cover inflationary costs, some of it was added to deal with an increase in major snow events.
“That doesn’t mean there will be a full plowing of every street, but it does mean residents will start to see improvements based on a city-wide scan that our administration is already doing,” Block said.
Council managed to pour some additional funds into city’s facility maintenance reserve, although it cut the proposed budget increase for that item by $250,000. Block said more reporting and discussions are needed to come up with a better asset management plan.
The city’s reserve fund covers maintenance work on all city-owned buildings for things like roof repairs or boiler replacements, which can become more costly if delayed.
“I think maintaining a good, well-managed civic building maintenance reserve is very important that we keep pace, and I was just happy that we were able to start that process with this budget,” Block said.
Overall, she left council chambers on Tuesday feeling positive, she added.
“Council really focused on what matters to residents, and I feel good about that outcome.”
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.