Saskatoon budget proposing historic 8.32 per cent property tax increase

WATCH: Saskatoon is out with its budget for the next two years, setting the stage for multiple days of difficult discussions.

The city has released its 2026-2027 multi-year budget, which is forecasting a property tax increase of 8.32 per cent next year.

“This is not administration’s wish list budget,” the city’s chief financial officer Clae Hack said. “It’s what we think is the minimum cost to maintain the services we have today.”

If approved, the increase would add $16.20 to a monthly property tax bill for a median home with an assessed value of $394,200.

In 2027, property taxes are forecasted to increase a further 5.95 per cent, or a $12.67 monthly increase to tax bills.

The nearly 300-page budget document highlights city spending over the next two years, with population growth, inflation and policing remaining as budget themes this year.

In June, Hack forecasted a property tax increase of 9.9 per cent for 2026 if no action was taken. Over the summer, council directed Hack and his staff to present more options to decrease the property tax. As part of the budget proposal on Nov. 19, more than 100 options will be given to council to bring the increase to as little as 4.90 per cent.

“It’s certainly possible,” Hack said. “But there will be implications to many of those decisions on service levels and risks that we would need to take in order to achieve that.”

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According to Statistics Canada, Saskatoon’s population grew by more than 33,000 – or roughly the population of Moose Jaw - between 2021 and 2024.

Hack said servicing that growth is a challenge.

“When I think about 2026 a big piece of that is the growth we’re already experiencing this year that we know is happening. And how do we fund and support that?”

The biggest driver of city spending continues to be policing. Largely due to a collective bargaining agreement settlement, the police service’s budget ask to council is an 8.62 per cent increase, or $12.5 million, down from a 10.4 per cent increase.

Recent items like Saskatoon’s affordable housing plan – representing up to $8.6 million – was deferred to budget deliberations and is not included in the budget.

Utilities, which are a separate bill passed on to residents, are expected to increase five per cent next year.

Some new hires were removed to reduce spending, but 98 full-time employees would be added next year if the current budget is approved.

Hack said the expansion of Saskatoon’s water treatment plant represents one of the biggest projects in Saskatoon’s history with expected costs of $75 million in 2026 and $116.7 million in 2027.

Hack warned a report will also be presented to councillors detailing the responsibilities from other levels of government that have been downloaded to the city.

“It certainly creates new and emerging challenges that we’ve had to deal with,” Hack said.

Councillors will spend three days, or more if needed, debating the budget and either eliminating or adding spending over several hours of deliberations beginning on Nov. 25.

“It’s going to take what it needs to take to find that right balance,” Hack said.