City Council begins to hammer out the budget and was told preliminary numbers show a $1 million shortfall in the 2007 Operating Budget.

 

Tough times ahead for Moose Jaw City Council as they look at a projected 1 million-dollar shortfall for their 2007 Operating Budget.

City Manager Gary McKay presented the bad news last night but stressed this is a preliminary figure that can change as council makes decision during budget deliberation.

But he also mentioned we could face a 7.5 per cent increase to the mill rate if left the way it is. "This is a higher number than we've started at in previous years that we were able to obtain zero. Despite everyone's best efforts there maybe a need for a modest tax increase by the time we've completed the process."

This is by no means the final decision when it comes to the budget as many decisions will have to be made over the coming months of budget talks.