Results from the citizen budget are out and they show a call for a slight reduction in taxes for 2018.  The survey through city hall asks Moose Jaw residents what they would change if they controlled the spending.

Finance Director Brian Acker said the response was similar to previous years with about 1300 visits and 210 surveys completed. The one area that received a lot of attention was a question about whether the city should focus more on infrastructure renewal.

"Overwhelmingly, the response back was 'yes, we should' and then we followed that up with (asking) where would we get that funding from and the majority (of respondents) indicated either municipal taxation or an infrastructure levy." explained Acker.

"A smaller amount indicated utility rates and then a group that suggested utilizing all three of those, using city reserves or reducing expenditures."

Another area of the survey allowed respondents to make cuts or additions to the budget.  Police and fire services were viewed as areas that could tighten their spending along with Mosaic Place and Yara Centre while parks and green space received increased support for new dollars.

Council meets for two days of budget talks starting Friday and start with a need for a 4.05% mill rate increase. According to the survey, when you add up all the cuts and additions that respondents made, there was a call for a .05% decrease to taxation.