Over the next year, the provincial government will distribute more than $340 million to municipalities in Municipal Revenue Sharing (MRS). 

The City of Swift Current was tallied to receive $3,935,526 of that money -- nearly half a million dollars more than they were allocated last year.

Mayor Al Bridal said the significant increase is something the City was aware of when budgeting for 2024. 

"Last fall we were told they anticipated this amount to be coming," he said. "Every year we get this funding from the province, and some years it's up and some years it's down. It definitely helps us shape our budget because half a million dollars is basically a 2.5 per cent tax increase that we didn't have to take because of this money."

The MRS program is the province's revenue sharing plan with the municipal sector providing predictable, no-strings-attached funding. The 2024-25 distribution for cities in Saskatchewan is $234.96 per capita based on the 2021 census populations. 

In 2023, Swift Current received $3,441,776 in MRS.

"I appreciate the fact that our province has this with its municipalities; I believe it's one of two provinces in Canada that have a long-term revenue sharing agreement," said Mayor Bridal. "It provides stable funding for cities and ... there's a formula, and from two years ago they can calculate it pretty close to what we should be getting. It's just something nice our province has done for us, and I really appreciate it."

graph of mrs swift current from sask . caGraph courtesy of the provincial government's website