Latest news with #municipalbudget
CBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Regina city council votes to cut nearly $1.6M from this year's budget
Social Sharing Regina city council voted Wednesday to cut $1.55 million from the 2025 municipal budget, honouring a commitment it made in March to fund a 0.5 per cent reduction in the city mill rate. The move came after a decision during the 2025 budget debate to lessen the city's 7.33 per cent increase — the biggest hike in over 10 years — to this year to its mill rate, which is the amount of tax payable per $1,000 of taxable assessed value. The city had originally proposed saving the money by terminating 34 external consultants and "out of scope" management-level positions, but that plan was scrapped after a backlash. Instead, council tasked city administrators to return in May with a number of cost-cutting options for them to vote on. "We committed to bringing you a menu of options," said Regina city clerk Jim Nicol told council on Wednesday. "We looked at this very carefully so that they would be feasible, acceptable and doable." Ward 3 Coun. David Froh said there are "no perfect cuts." "I certainly have an expectation that the people of Regina aren't interested in us reducing our mosquito control services or our dust suppression," he said. Council found the $1.55 million in savings after being presented with 13 different city programs and budgets. The largest cost savings by far came from the carbon tax payments the city stopped having to make on its electricity and natural gas bills after April 1, when Prime Minister Mark Carney reduced the consumer carbon tax to zero per cent. That accounted for $600,000, or 39 per cent, of the total shortfall. The next largest cut was to the transit fleet reserve, which funds the replacements of city buses and other vehicles. Its budget for 2025 was cut by $500,000, from a total of $6.2 million. The city's budget for natural gas, its workplace improvement budget and its facility retrofit budget were each slashed by $100,000. The city cut a further $80,000 by reducing the frequency of custodial services in non-public spaces like city hall, transit facilities and fire stations. Another $26,000 was saved by deferring a cybersecurity audit. And the mosquito control budget did end up being cut by $44,000, to arrive at the $1.55 million goal. "It was a list [of] items that were not a major impact to services," Mayor Chad Bachynski said after the vote. "We recognized the services that would maybe have a more visible impact to residents than others." Along with Flores and Bachynski, Couns. Clark Bezo, Mark Burton, Victoria Flores, David Froh and George Tsiklis voted in favour of the framework. Couns. Dan Rashovich, Shobna Radons and Sarah Turnbull voted against it. Turnbull attempted a different suite of cuts. She wanted to reduce the transit fleet reserve's budget by only $250,000, and make up the difference by cutting the external and professional services budget, which funds external consultants to work on special city projects, by the same amount. That option, which was only supported byTurnbull and Radons, was rejected. City council also voted unanimously to accept the donation of a storage building by the Regina Ski Club at Kinsmen Park, and enter into a lease agreement with the Regina Rugby Union for their clubhouse.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
No final decision about directing $16.9M of budget surplus to property tax relief
On Tuesday, council backed the mayor's plan for reallocating a massive $58.8 million surplus left over from the 2024 municipal budget after being assured that a decision to put $16.9 million towards tax relief won't be finalized until budget deliberations this fall. Josh Morgan emphasized that the funds would be set aside in a reserve fund until a business case is prepared by staff for the 2026 Municipal Budget Update. 'Council will have the full right, for any part of the budget, to amend, to remove, to add in anything they'd like to see,' Morgan reiterated. 'So, there is no decided matter of council associated with this.' Dividing the $16.9 million evenly between 2026 and 2027 would shave about 1 per cent off the upcoming tax increase. Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis pushed back against a letter from Pillar Nonprofit Network that reads, 'we strongly urge council to consider reinvesting a portion of these funds into London's nonprofit sector and essential community services.' 'People need relief,' Lewis told colleagues. 'Those people who want to see investments made in other programs can take their $200, $300, or whatever they've saved on their property tax bill, and they can direct it to whatever charity of choice they have.' Council also supported the staff recommendation to reallocate the remaining surplus to mandatory Development Charge exemptions downloaded from the provincial government ($16.6 million), and debt reduction ($25.3 million) A long list of programs and departments contributed to the surplus. The largest contributor ($28.8 million from Financial Management) is described in a staff report as a 'surplus in provision for tax appeals & uncollectible taxes ($10.8 million) due to delay in property reassessments resulting in lower appeals and assessment at risk, investment income surplus ($10.5 million) from higher interest rates than budgeted, personnel & contingency savings ($5.7 million), and other miscellaneous factors ($1.8 million).' Other significant contributors
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These city of Peoria employees have the highest compensation for 2025
The city of Peoria will spend $77 million on salaries and wages for municipal employees in 2025 and will spend another $43.3 million on employee benefits such as health care and pensions. Wages and benefits for city employees make up roughly 42% of the city's total $288 million budget for 2025. Pension costs, particularly those for public safety officials, remain an albatross within the budget. Pension costs for police officers rose 7.6%, while pension costs for firefighters have jumped 9.8% in 2025 compared to 2024. The pension payments made to Peoria's police officers and firefighters are often sizable, making many of the city's public safety employees among the highest compensated in the city. Previous reporting: 'The problem is going to be unbelievable': Looming pension payments worry Peoria officials In fact, of the 50 highest-compensated employees in Peoria, 49 are part of either the Police Department or Fire Department. The lone exception is City Manager Patrick Urich, who is the 23rd-highest compensated employee in the city. While Urich has the city's highest base salary of $220,149.91 in 2025, his pension benefits do not reach the level of Peoria's public safety employees, pushing him further down the list of the city's highest-compensated employees. State law requires city governments to make public the wages and salaries of all employees who are paid more than $75,000 a year. The Journal Star reviews those salaries annually and publishes them so taxpayers have transparency as to where their tax dollars are being spent. These are the 12 highest-compensated employees in the city of Peoria for 2025. Salary: $193,417.41 Fire pension: $197,672.59 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,804.55 Other benefits: $500 Total compensation: $424,294.56 Salary: $177,493.87 Police pension: $193,397.32 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,588.61 Other benefits: $500 Other pay: $1,031.19 Total compensation: $404,910.99 Salary: $178,407.20 Fire pension: $182,332.16 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,549.59 Other benefits: $500 Total compensation: $393,688.95 Salary: $161,358.07 Police pension: $175,815.75 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,495.18 Other pay: $10,723.06 Other benefits: $500 Total compensation: $380,792.06 Salary: $161,358.07 Police pension: $175,815.75 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,389.44 Other pay: $3,431.19 Other benefits: $500 Total compensation: $372,894.46 Salary: $161,358.07 Police pension: $175,815.75 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,389.44 Other pay: $1,031.19 Other benefits: $500 Total compensation: $370,959.66 Salary: $161,358.07 Police pension: $175,815.75 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,389.44 Other pay: $1,031.19 Total compensation: $370,459.66 Salary: $159,849.11 Fire pension: $163,365.79 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,389.44 Other pay: $1,800.00 Total compensation: $357,258.81 Salary: $159,849.11 Fire pension: $163,365.79 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,322.89 Other pay: $350.00 Total compensation: $355,787.79 More: Caterpillar renovating one of its Downtown Peoria office buildings. Here's what we know Salary: $159,849.11 Fire pension: $163,365.79 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,322.89 Other pay: $350.00 Total compensation: $355,787.79 Salary: $140,001.13 Police pension: $152,545.23 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,199.48 Other pay: $11,687.31 Total compensation: $336,333.15 Salary: $140,001.13 Police pension: $152,545.23 Health insurance: $29,900.00 FICA/Medicare: $2,182.08 Other pay: $10,487.31 Total compensation: $335,615.75 Previous reporting in 2024: These 12 city of Peoria employees have the highest base salaries This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Who are Peoria's 12 highest compensated city employees?
CBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Property assessment freeze in 2026 may force 'difficult decisions,' minister admits
Social Sharing The New Brunswick government says it hopes municipalities will be able to absorb a broad property assessment freeze in 2026 without raising tax rates on property owners. But if municipal budget figures from this year are a guide, that may be a tall order. At a news conference Wednesday, Aaron Kennedy, the minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, said he hopes municipalities will be able to scrape by in 2026 on revenue assessment increases they can generate outside the freeze and by making "difficult decisions" about how they spend money in their communities. "I appreciate their frustration with the announcement, but I think when you take into consideration that sales and new construction and major renovations is excluded from the freeze there are many municipalities that won't have a freeze in their revenues," Kennedy said. WATCH | 'You, as government, need to do something,' province told by homeowners: Will N.B.'s property assessment freeze actually help lower tax bills? 3 hours ago Duration 1:25 New Brunswick Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy says homeowners angry with their rising property tax bills persuaded the province to freeze property assessments in 2026. But a similar freeze in 2018 was partially nullified when 41 municipalities raised their property tax rates in response. In Saint John, Mayor Donna Reardon said the city has a number of financial obligations that are already fixed for next year, including negotiated wage increases for unionized employees, that cannot easily be managed in the absence of revenue growth. "We have four unions we have contracts with and their wages won't be frozen," Reardon said. "It's difficult." Had a similar freeze been imposed in the current year, Saint John budget documents suggest the city would have had significant problems making ends meet. Saint John did experience about $2 million in increased tax revenue this year from new construction, but that is well short of what would have been needed to finance a $6.8-million increase — or 3.5 per cent — in municipal expenditures and a $2.6-million reduction in the city's tax rate in the 2025 budget. Some combination of higher tax rates and service cuts adding up to $7 million or more would have been needed to make that budget balance under a freeze this year. Kennedy said a $63-million increase in funding to local government's from the province announced in this year's budget should also help soften the blow of the assessment freeze, although he said decisions on how much of those increases each municipality will receive will be made at a later date. In 2018, during New Brunswick's last assessment freeze, 41 New Brunswick communities did eventually raise tax rates to finance their budgets that year.
