City of Winnipeg prepares to release budget amid massive fiscal pressure

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Peggy

The City of Winnipeg is preparing to release a budget amid financial pressures unlike anything anyone serving on council has seen before.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has warned for weeks the city does not have enough money to cover basic services and infrastructure.

Sources have told CBC News the 2025 budget is expected to contain a 5.95 per cent property tax increase, breaking a promise Gillingham made during the 2022 municipal election not to raise property taxes more than 3.5 per cent.

Gillingham has said he will not comment on a possible tax increase before the budget is released.

The city’s latest financial update predicted a $23.4 million deficit in 2024. Budgets in recent years have left nothing in the city’s reserve fund, and cancelling a planned $14.3 million transfer to the fund leaves the city with $9.1 million it may have to carry over into next year.

Community Connections question

One question is the fate of the Community Connections space inside the Millennium Library. Funding for the space, which is staffed by librarians and community crisis workers, is set to run out at the end of the year.

According to a report to the community services committee last month, from October last year until this September, Community Connections handled 24,300 requests for service — 43 per cent for all library requests at Millennium.

“This innovative, effective space is also one of the busiest spaces in Millennium,” said Kirsten Wurmann, program co-ordinator with the Manitoba Library Association.

Safety and security have been ongoing concerns at the library. A man was fatally stabbed inside the lobby two years ago.

With its space inside the doors of the library, but before the metal detectors and security guards at the main entrance, Wurmann says it offers a low-barrier way for people to access information.

The report states that Community Connections staff often work with people who may find the library difficult to navigate, or who are at risk of becoming escalated.

Former community services chair Coun. Evan Duncan questioned whether the library is the appropriate place for the service.

He also said the province should fund it, arguments echoed by current chair Coun. Vivan Santos, who declined to comment before the budget release.

“I’ve heard from staff that they’re very concerned about what will happen to their patrons, to the folks that they serve here at Community Connections. And they also worry about the staff and the library space itself.”

City in new territory

Speaking to reporters following the release of the last financial update in November, both Gillingham and finance committee chair Coun. Jeff Browaty, both said neither could recall a time when the city had not been able to draw on the fiscal stabilization reserve to balance the budget.

Gillingham has advocated for a new funding agreement with the provincial government. An announcement this fall from Premier Wab Kinew of a $12.4 million annual increase to municipal funding fell short of what Manitoba mayors had hoped to see.

When asked whether the province would grant the city new taxation powers, Kinew has repeatedly said he is focused on keeping life affordable for Manitobans.

A proposed $1 fee on all phone bills to pay for upgrades to the city’s 911 service has stalled, due to the provincial government delaying approval of a city by-law needed to put the fee into effect.

City staffing levels have not kept pace with population growth, Gillingham has said.

A news release from Gillingham last week pointed out the number of police officers per 10,000 residents has decreased from 20.3 in 2014 to 16.8 in 2023. At the same time, calls for service have reached record highs.

Acting police chief Art Stannard told reporters last week he’s asked for 72 more officers in next year’s budget.

Gillingham has also called for an expansion to the transit safety team, which launched with provincial funding earlier this year to address concerns about violence against drivers and passengers on city buses.

The budget will be released at a council meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Concerns about future of community services’ space inside Millennium library

11 hours ago

Duration 1:46

The City of Winnipeg is releasing its 2025 budget Wednesday. One question many people many people are asking is what will happen to the Community Connections space inside the Millennium Library.