It could offset the need for an infrastructure levy this year but it likely won't keep the monster at bay for very long. Moose Jaw City Council passed a motion Monday night to cap the Five Year Capital Budget at $200 million in spending by sending it back to members of the administration to either remove or delaying $42 million worth of projects.

As the four-hour budget meeting progressed the debate circled back to the levy and the fact that the city will likely have to implement one in the future. During that discussion, Councillor Heather Eby voiced her concerns, pointing to previous councils delaying projects that this current council is now trying to deal with.

"I do think that at some point a levy or some type of funding will probably have to come into play to satisfy the funding requirements for cast iron," said Eby. "I, under no circumstances, would ever be in favour of cutting the budget to cast iron but I do think it would be important to look at this (levy) in preparation for the 2020 budget."

The original plan was to flip the hospital levy into an infrastructure levy when the hospital is paid off later this year. While that would have been about $96 per year for a residential customer, it was based on the size of your water meter and could have seen the largest users pay $2000 per month.

Wile Mayor Fraser Tolmie supports the exploration of a levy as a funding source for projects, he says now is not the right time.

"The hospital levy was designated for the hospital... and I think we should finish that and then if we are going to introduce a levy in regards to infrastructure, then there should be a start and end date to an infrastructure project," said Tolmie. "I think that shows accountability."

One of the hang-ups for some councillors during budget talks this year has been the staggering amount of carry-forward funding for projects that haven't been able to be completed. Going to tender late in the year has been an issue for several years and restricts the number of contractors who might be able to do the work. Weather is another factor as the construction season can be very unpredictable in Saskatchewan.

According to Councillor Chris Warren, who introduced the motion to cap the budget, there were uncompleted works or carry forward of $41 million in 2016, $32 million in 2017 and $43 million in 2019. He's suggesting that those projects take top priority, get completed as quickly as possible and that they only budget for the work that can be done, not the work that they hope could be done.

There's no timeline for when the new Five Year Capital Budget will be presented.