After several breaks to stop down and determine how to proceed with the special budget meeting in Saskatoon, most of the items on yesterday’s agenda have been moved to July 25th.

Council had anticipated working its way through budget line items to find savings, based on recommendations from City of Saskatoon administration.

Councillor Darren Hill presented a motion asking administration return in a few months with a preliminary budget that would be based on a maximum four per cent tax hike in 2024 and in 2025 as a base for council budget discussions.

He believes the administration should review each business line and align priorities as best possible with the current 2022 to 2025 Strategic Plan so council has all information to determine on what the final decision should be for each business line.

“It’s the Admin’s job to make recommendations on operational and even capital impact on how we get to where we want to go and we need to tell them where we want to go. They’re the ones with the knowledge and experience to do so. Not us. We can do 30,000-foot level recommendations but I don’t wanna be getting into the weeds of identifying if we need so many garbage trucks on the road, or what particular service line we’re doing or how many trees we’re trimming for Saskatoon Light and Power.”

Hill’s motion was narrowly defeated 6-5 and additional budget meetings are scheduled for July and August to address a $52.4-million funding gap in 2024 and another $23.2-million gap in 2025.