NSBA suggests Saskatoon council pause major projects, cut up to 400 jobs

As Saskatoon city councillors grapple with a funding shortfall of more than $70 million in 2024 and 2025, the North Saskatoon Business Association has shared some ideas on what could be done to bridge that gap.

Executive Director Keith Moen said his organization has come up with a list of seven items for council’s consideration. Some, he said, council has seen before, while others are new.

“We are recommending an external HR audit with the goal of reducing staffing by 10 per cent. We know that this will be a challenge,” he said.

“Unfortunately, with staffing being an ongoing cost because people are rarely – if ever – laid off at city hall, it’s just a cost that keeps on adding and adding. It’s a pebble-in-the-backpack analogy.”

The 10-per-cent layoff would be equal to around 400 jobs in non- customer-facing or taxpayer-facing services, including communications, labour relations, environmental sustainability, human resources, and planning and development.

Currently, the City of Saskatoon has more than 4,300 employees.

The second, third, and fourth items on the business association’s suggestion list involved improving efficiency and productivity at city hall, anticipating lower revenues due to inflation earlier, and discontinuing programs that higher levels of government should be funding, including some of the city’s social programs.

Moen said he’d like the city “to stay in their own lane and let the provincial and federal governments provide the assistance and programming that’s required for many areas in which the city currently operates in.”

The association also said postponing capital and operational green initiatives would help reduce the funding gap, along with hit hitting pause on all major capital projects, including the new Saskatoon Public Library and the proposed downtown arena.

“We still very much support the (downtown event and entertainment district) project and will continue to do so; however, what we’re saying is that there should be a pause on that particular project,” said Moen.

Finally, the business association said the aging city greenhouses on 33rd Street and Avenue P should be liquidated, and the money raised from the sale of the land they sit on could be used to help close the funding gap.

“Those (employed) at the greenhouse should be among those laid off, and that land on which they sit should be sold,” added Moen.

Last week, the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce also came up with its own suggestion to address the gap by cutting costs across all city departments by seven per cent.

CEO Jason Aebig said council will have to make “some very, very difficult decisions” in the coming months, and was adamant that residents simply can’t afford a large tax hike.

Mayor Charlie Clark has called the situation “brutal,” and said he understood how many people would be astounded by the size of the funding gap.

The councillors will get together on Tuesday for the second of three special budget meetings. Administration will be providing several reports, including staff comparisons with other cities and general tax and revenue budget information.