The 2023 operating and 2023/24 capital budgets were adopted by Yorkton City Council.
Residents of Yorkton will see a 3.93% tax increase, which Finance Director Ashley Stradeski previously said translates to an increase of $6.50-7.00 a month for the average residential property, and twice that amount for the average commercial property.
Stradeski says part of the tax increase is due to PST being included on municipal construction projects, as well as inflation.
The tax increase is broken down into two parts – a 1% increase in capital and 2.93% increase in operating. The 1% is to close the infrastructure deficit and the 2.93% covers the cost of inflation while providing the same level of services to Yorkton residents.
“We have two options when there’s increased costs, and that’s raise taxes or do less,” he stated. “From a capital project side its meant probably that we haven’t gotten to as many as we would have liked because of increased costs, we’re not getting as many done, that sort of thing.”
The public had an opportunity to share feedback on the budgets, and Stradeski said some residents were concerned about rising costs.
“That is something that we factor in as one of the primary things when we do budget is the cost [of living] while still providing services,” he said. “We’re aware of that.”