cityhall

Could taxes be going up to increase services in Swift Current?

Mayor Jerrod Schafer is entering budget discussions today and Thursday, considering whether council should abandon their usual quest to keep taxes in the city among the lowest in the province.

"Possibly look at some discussions regarding tax parity with some other communities to be able to increase the service we have for our residents," he said. "A good example is our snow removal efforts. Just to simply double our crews to help alleviate some of the pressure when we have a blizzard like we did last week and people get frustrated, it's anywhere between a 6-8% tax increase."

Schafer says they will meet with admin to determine what expenses they can tolerate and what they just can't cover.

"I think our discussions are going to take a bit of a different turn this year," he added. "Traditionally, our focus is on really minimizing increases, and we certainly heard some of the frustrations with snow removal over the last little while, but it only amplifies other concerns that we often hear about, whether it's potholes or things like that."

Schafer says perhaps they need to consider bringing tax rates in line with other communities to offer services that residents are asking for.

"If our residents are really concerned with services like snow removal, with potholes, roads and things like that, then we need to look at a strategy where our taxes become more comparable with other cities in this province," he added.

The 2012 Swift Current Municipal Budget carried a 12.2% tax increase, mostly prompted by a reduction in the city's policing subsidy. The budget also noted that Swift Current receives $7.3 million in tax revenues, which is half of the revenue collected by the similarly-sized cities of North Battleford and Yorkton.