The CEO of Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce is calling for comprehensive audits of municipal programs and services as the city grapples with proposed property tax increases that could reach 8.23 percent next year.
Budget Concerns Spark Call for Financial Review
Jason Aebig, head of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, has expressed serious concerns about the City of Saskatoon's preliminary 2026/27 budget. The proposed financial plan includes a potential 8.23 percent property tax increase for 2026, followed by a 5.95 percent hike in 2027.
While acknowledging that city administration has done substantial work to present a workable budget to council, Aebig emphasized the need to examine the sustainability of this budgeting approach. "There's clearly been a good amount of heavy lifting done by city administration," Aebig stated, while pushing for deeper scrutiny of city operations.
Growing Affordability Crisis in Saskatoon
The chamber CEO warned that continuous tax increases could create long-term affordability problems for Saskatoon residents. "If you project that out a decade and you compound those tax increases, cycle after cycle, it paints a picture of a Saskatoon less and less affordable for people to live in," Aebig explained.
Although the proposed increases represent a slight reduction from originally forecasted rates of 9.9 percent for 2026 and 7.34 percent for 2027, Aebig finds the ongoing pattern troubling. He noted that Saskatoon isn't alone in facing these challenges, as municipalities across Canada are having similar discussions about affordability and municipal financing.
Proposed Solution: Independent Program Audits
The Chamber of Commerce has been advocating for an independent programs-and-services auditor to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of city operations. Aebig believes this approach could identify opportunities to maintain service levels through different methods or potentially eliminate programs that aren't delivering value.
"To what extent could we explore eliminating that program or service because it is not efficient, or it's not effective in what it was intended to do?" Aebig questioned, noting that such evaluations currently aren't possible for most city programs and services.
Aebig stressed that the preliminary budget numbers released by administration represent just the starting point for discussions. City council now faces the critical task of challenging and refining these figures before final approval at the end of November.
The chamber CEO also raised concerns about the impact of continuous tax increases on Saskatoon's ability to grow its tax base and remain competitive with other municipalities. He questioned whether the current approach of accepting annual four to seven percent mill rate increases, combined with rising fees and utility rates, represents the best possible strategy for the city's future.
