Meadow Lake City Council adopts 2021 budget, no tax increases (Nicole Reis/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Elliott Knopp

ML Budget

City of Meadow Lake adopting 2021 budget

Dec 16, 2020 | 9:40 AM

The City of Meadow Lake has agreed to adopt its 2021 budget, which highlights a focus on investments into city infrastructure and no tax increases.

The financial blueprint for the new year did not include any rate increases to water or sewer services, and there will not be a revenue increase on property taxes. But since 2021 is a reassessment year in the province, some property owners could see changes to their property tax rates.

Mayor Merlin Seymour said he, along with city council, did not believe it would be in the public’s best interest to raise taxes as people continue to deal with issues presented by COVID-19 and the current economic climate.

“They’ve had a tough time already,” Seymour said. “If we can cut down portions of the budget to save some money and still provide better service or the same service, then that would be beneficial to everyone.”

The capital budget includes almost $4 million in investments. Some major projects include $1.8 million to continue improving water and sewer services on the east side of the city, which is in the second year of the 10-year development plan. Nearly $1 million will be allocated to pavement repairs, $840,000 will go toward replacing old underground utility infrastructure and another $300,000 will go toward upgrading the City fleet.

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The operating budget focuses on improving City infrastructure, including water valves and fire hydrants. It also includes investments in recreation facility maintenance and programming opportunities to increase usage. Through increased staffing levels and budgets, the City will work to improve service levels for road maintenance.

Seymour stated the importance of upgrading city water valves, referencing an incident in previous years when access to water was cut off due to faulty valves.

“We’re trying to do the best to be proactive and use the tax dollars the best we can for preventative maintenance,” Seymour said. “Over the past few years, we’ve been moving ahead with replacing these valves or repairing these valves. That way, if there is a break or a problem, we can isolate it to a small area rather than a huge area.”

The Long Term Care Levy will continue in 2021, with the new community long-term care facility expected to open sometime in the new year. That project is receiving funding from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the City of Meadow Lake, and the RM of Meadow Lake.

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Elliott.Knopp@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp