City council finalized its 2022 budget on Wednesday night, but it will be coming at a hefty price tag for citizens. 

The operating budget includes a 5.45 per cent tax increase to generate $1.7 million in additional revenue for the city. 

Broken down, the increase includes 1.61 per cent for the Moose Jaw Police Service and 3.84 per cent increase for city services. 

“One of the reasons we're in the difficult position we are this year is we lost $2.2 million in COVID restart funding. We lost $300,000 in provincial revenue sharing. Our revenue growth was next to nothing in a normal year,” explained Director of Financial Services Brian Acker. 

For the average household, this will mean an increase of $6.76 per month or $81.12 per year. 

Coun. Heather Eby pointed out that with an inflation rate of four per cent, this budget isn’t far off. She and Mayor Clive Tolley noted that the city is now feeling the effects of having a zero per cent increase in 2019 and a 2.96 per cent increase in 2020. 

“The average over three years from 2020, 2021, and 2022 is under three per cent tax increase each year. If this was three per cent right now, we would be happy and not looking to take it down,” Eby said. 

The budget includes a lot of new initiatives including a spay and neutering program through the Moose Jaw Humane Society, six new outdoor Pickleball courts and weekly garbage pick-up in October. 

“I think 5.5 (per cent), I'm not happy with it but at the same time, if we can prove and provide that service to the citizens that they're getting the biggest bang for their buck out of that money, yeah, they might not be happy, but they're not going to be extremely upset about it and vocal,” said Coun. Doug Blanc. 

The operation budget passed 6-1 with Coun. Dawn Luhning as the only one opposed. 

Luhning felt the tax increase could be brought below five per cent without having to cut any major programs. 

“On a $29 million revenue to try and find between half a million dollars and $700,000 in savings, to me is not cutting huge services or cutting a whole bunch of stuff out of the bottom line. But we have this argument every year that it can't be done and that's where we're going,” she said. 

Meanwhile, council also approved a three per cent increase for the waterworks utility and a three per cent increase on the sanitary sewer utility rate. For the average taxpayer, this will mean an increase of $3.76 per month or $45.12 per year on their water bill. 

The infrastructure levy will be going up in 2022 from $65 to $100. Those funds will be strictly dedicated to the Cast Iron Watermain Replacement Program. 

There will be $1.6 million that will be transferred from the Traffic Safety Reserve to the General Capital Reserve Capital budget in 2022 to fund $1.1 million for the Fourth Avenue Bridge replacement and $500,000 for traffic control upgrades. 

Finally, city council passed a motion to designate the sewer main lining and South Hill Pumphouse upgrades as the city’s 2022 municipal gas tax-funded programs.