Moose Jaw City Council will be sitting down for the first session of budget deliberations tonight at City Hall. 

City council will be presented with the proposed budget for 2021 that would include a 4.05 per cent tax hike. 

The tax increases break down to a 2.87 per cent increase for the operating budget and a 1.18 per cent increase for the police service budget. 

For utilities, there is a proposed six per cent increase for the waterwork utility rate and five per cent increase for the sanitary sewer utility rate. 

A full version of the proposed budget can be found here.

Up for discussion tonight is city transit, parks and recreation, waste collection, and cast iron watermain replacement. 

A list of all the topics on the agenda can be found on the City of Moose Jaw’s website.

Discover Moose Jaw held a non-scientific poll asking “What matters most to you in the municipal budget?” 

Of the 367 respondents, the top responses were roads with 39.5 per cent, cast iron watermain replacement at 15.3 per cent and pandemic tax relief for businesses at 13.6 per cent. 

Deliberation meetings have also been set for Dec. 9 and 16 to finalize the budget. All meetings start at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. 

The meetings are open to the public. However, COVID-19 restrictions are in place. Masks will be mandatory in council chambers and seating is limited. All of the meetings will be live-streamed from the city’s website.