Increased property taxes, parking fees, transit fees and cuts to services all part of 2018 civic budget

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Increased property taxes, parking fees, transit fees and cuts to services all part of 2018 civic budget

November 22, 2017
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On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, the City of Winnipeg unveiled the proposed city budget for 2018 and it is not as bad as it could have been.

[jaw_quote author=”Brian Bowman – Mayor, City of Winnipeg” ]I believe what’s being proposed is a balanced approach.[/jaw_quote][jaw_clear]

Parking fees on city streets will jump $1.00 per hour which will raise an additional $3.5 million. The “early pay” reduction to parking tickets will be reduced from 50% to 25% giving the city about an additional $750,000 to play with.

Property taxes will see a 2.33% increase in the next tax year (the same as the 2017 increase). It is expected that this will bring in about $17 million in additional revenue

Transit will also see an increase of $.25 per ride making a regular adult fare $2.95 effective January 1, 2018. In June the city says that 23 transit routes will be slashed in off hours. An additional $5.7 million is expected in city coffers as a result of the changes.

“We can’t ignore the fact our public transit service is facing a new fiscal reality,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “Declining ridership, provincial funding reductions, and a new operating environment about to emerge with the introduction of ride-sharing require transit to take a critical and strategic review of its operations to ensure it can be best positioned for success in the future.”

Police get an extra $3.5 million while the Fire Paramedic service will see a cut of $5 million.

The annual road repair budget will see an $11 million increase but all of the increase will be spent on rebuilding Empress Street south of St.Mathews Avenue.

The city has also committed to spending:

$175,000 to support a review of the city’s current governance framework;
$150,000 to continue the Community Homeless Assistance Program (CHAT);
Fourth year of a five year annual commitment of $150,000 towards the United Way’s Plan to End Homelessness;
$10.8 million of operating support for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and a further capital grant of $5.1 million to support their on-going infrastructure renewal efforts;
Third year of a five year annual commitment of $1 million to the Winnipeg Art Gallery Inuit Art Centre;
$1.25 million to support the Indigenous Youth Strategy, consistent with 2017; and
A continued investment of over $43 million in grant support to many different organizations, museums, and community centres.

-News 4-