By Tyler Marr

Many external agencies hold the line in 2018 grant requests

Nov 16, 2017 | 10:08 PM

With a tight budget and proposed two per cent tax hike already on the table for the city, it came as little surprise most external agencies declined increases in their 2018 funding asks.

A number of groups made their proposed municipal grant pitches to council Thursday night, and while an overwhelming majority settled on what was asked of them — the status quo — a few groups were on the hunt to squeeze a few extra dollars from the city.

Representatives from the Historical Society, Art’s Board, SPCA, Mann Art Gallery, Mobile Crisis Unit, Public Library, Community Service Centre and District Planning Commission pled their case.

The biggest boost came from the Mann Art Gallery, who requested $100,000 in funding for the coming year, up from $75,000 in 2017. 

The bump, according to director and curator Jesse Campbell, was in the works since 2012 and comes as the gallery operates on “a pretty tight budget…especially when compared to similar or smaller galleries in the province.”

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“We know it is a pretty tough grant year, but we are also hoping this doesn’t come as a major shock,” she explained, highlighting how the gallery turns every dollar from the city into five through various means.

According to budget documents, the North Battleford gallery, by comparison, receives $291,000 from the city and only sees about half of the annual attendance. Estevan, Swift Current and Moose Jaw all received well over $100,000 from their respective municipalities. There is also fear a $28,000 grant from the Canadian Council of the Art’s might not come in, meaning the gallery would have to find additional ways to tighten its belt.

The next ask came from the Prince Albert District Planning Commission, who is seeking a 1.8 per cent increase to mainly cover the costs now associated with paying PST on health and dental benefits. 

The John M. Cuelenaere Public Library also urged for a 0.96 per cent grant increase to $1,988,864 for 2018. The request includes $50,000 to continue interior renovations on the building. 

Director Alex Juorio said though library costs have increased more than the requested increase, the library has been able to realize savings on utilities, cutting the budget for work-related travel, taking advantage of cost-saving initiatives with the city, and by delaying some network service upgrades.

“We want to be part of the answer not part of the problem,” he said. “These are all behind the scene things that I think will be, by-and-large, invisible to the public.”

Juorio further outlined the library’s continued progress towards becoming a municipal library under the Public Libraries Act. This will change the government model to that similar of operations in Saskatoon and Regina and help “get us to provincial tables.”

Other agencies requested status quo budgets while outlining some initiatives planned for the upcoming year. 

Of interest to city council was the Art’s Board desire to determine what more could be done with the Margo Fournier Centre.

“It really behoves the city to take a very close look at how that is accessed… and how it is serving the needs of our citizens,” Chair Roxanne Dicke said. “We have identified in our strategic plan… a Rawlinson Centre and Margo Fournier Centre usage policy.”

NO INCREASES LIKELY: MAYOR

After the two hour session, Mayor Greg Dionne, while speaking with the media, said he was “a little disappointed that they asked [for increases].”

“I will not be recommending any increases to any of them,” he said. “When you look at our budget, every one of our departments has been cut.”

Dionne reiterated how the city continues to grapple with a $3.5 million shortfall handed down from last year’s provincial budget. He likewise made note how come Jan. 1, council will take a 3.5 per cent salary cut, and all out-of-scope and union employees will be asked not to take a pay increase.

“We are asking all of us to do it and we are asking our external agencies to jump on board,” he added. 

In lieu, the city has opened the doors for purchasing partnerships with the agencies, including everything from office supplies to fuel and insurance, which many pointed out has saved them substantially in the expenditures column.

“Even though we are not giving them an increase, we are giving them plenty of opportunity to bring down their expenses,” he explained. “If we can deliver services cheaper to you, you don’t need the increase.”

For many agencies though, this will be the second year in a row without increases. With inflation pegged at at least two per cent, many agencies are four or more points behind in desired funding levels.

Asked when this starts becoming of concern for the city, Dionne was optimistic funding would be restored by 2019.

“We want our money back and [the province] said they would pay it back,” he said, before taking aim at the rejigged PST funding model. 

“They have expended PST… but they want to keep it and not share it with us and I object to that,” he added. “If they left PST the way it is we would come out of it in 2019. I still strongly support the [current] PST formula.”

Council will take the night’s discussions into consideration as they dive head first into general budget talks scheduled to begin Friday and throughout the month.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr