Budget Deliberations Kick Off Today With Third Party Funding Requests
One of the primary purposes for having elected municipal officials is their role in formulating a budget for the municipality and for Council members in the urban municipality those sharpened pencils come out starting today.
To be broadcast starting at 4 pm on SHAW Cable 10 the budget deliberations kick off with third party presentations.
The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) will be the first to present their budget.
The MJPS is asking for a budget increase of 4.67 percent or $582,223. The increase (if applied against a status quo City Operating Budget) amounts to an approximate two (2) percent property tax increase.
In his presentation to the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners MJPS Chief Rick Bourassa said the funds will largely be used to hire three new officers for the force. The request to hire more officers is made in the face of declining crime rates in Moose Jaw.
Although the budget was presented at an open meeting of the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners Chief Bourassa provided no opportunity to answer any questions about the budget with the media in attendance as done in other larger cities in Saskatchewan.
The second third party budget request will come from the Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL).
The MJPL will be seeking an increase in their 2022 operating budget from 2021. The MJPL will present a budget asking for $1,235,932 in 2022 versus the $1,206,453 they received in 2021.
The amount of increase the MJPL is requesting is a $29,479 more than approved in 2021.
A number of third party organizations will present their financial requests to Council for their consideration.
Some of the third party request of note are:
New this year is a request from the Downtown Moose Jaw Association (DMJA) who are seeking funding from the City to establish a Business Improvement District for the Downtown.
DMJA is seeking $125,000 from the City of Moose Jaw or just under 60 percent of their total $210,000 operating budget.
The budget will be used to pay for a number of initiatives to encourage economic activity in the Downtown core.
Tourism Moose Jaw and Canada Day will be making a request for $94,835.00 for a fee for service they provide the City in assisting tourists.
It needs to noted in previous years there were questions raised during budget deliberations as to the third party’s finances and e-mailed questions by MJ Independent asking about their financial documents were never answered after promises were made to do so.
The Moose Jaw Humane Society (MJHS) is making a budget request of $15,000 from the City to set up a free cat spay and neuter service available for low income residents.
In their proposal the MJHS states they receive numerous requests for assistance from low income people to spay and neuter their cats. Since the MJHS does not have the funds to assist these people cats have kittens which end up at the MJHS shelter as surrenders.
The MJHS is seeking $15,000 from the City to help finance the subsidy program in an effort to lower the kittens surrendered to the sheltered. Each year the MJHS is over run with dozens of kittens which are difficult to find furever homes for.
The Cosmo’s Senior Citizens Centre will not only be making an application for a $15,300 grant for 2022 but they will also be publicly thanking the City for the same amount they received in 2021 which helped keep their operation open in 2021.
In 2021 the group received a grant of $15,255 from the City.