The City of Estevan is among the many Saskatchewan groups giving the provincial government's budget a thumb's up.
Mayor Gary St. Onge said he was happy with last Wednesday's document which touched on a handful of issues important to the Estevan area such as housing and property tax relief. He also noted the budget once and for all confirmed that Saskatchewan municipalities would have their municipal operating grants topped off at one per cent of the provincial sales tax, a move that added roughly $400,000 to the City's coffers.
"I think they did a lot of things that were pretty good," said St. Onge.
Prior to the budget, much was made of the province's housing shortage and the need to provide incentives to increase Saskatchewan's rental stock. St. Onge said the City and the Saskatchewan Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Enterprise Region had been pushing for a per door incentive and was pleased to see the government announce a break of roughly $5,500 per door for anyone building an apartment. He feels the incentive could be a big help to Estevan in particular.
"I don't know the exact details yet; there may be something tied in there with how much they can charge for rent, but that is what we have been asking for," said St. Onge. "So between that and the fact they get five years of free taxes (through the local CANDO incentive program) that has got to be somewhat helpful."
St. Onge was also pleased to see the government address taxes for both individuals and business owners.
"The lowering of the small business tax from four and a half to two per cent is big because that is the backbone of all our communities," he said. "On an individual basis, I think the idea of giving more money to everybody through income tax is always going to be beneficial. It puts more money in your pocket and gives you more to spend. I was glad to see that."
One area the City is still awaiting word on is whether or not Estevan will receive funding for more police officers. The board of police commissioners has been lobbying the provincial government for two officers to help deal with the increase in crime the city has experienced over the past few years.
Although there was $5.2 million included in the budget to fully fund and complete the government's commitment to add 120 new officers over four years, there was no indication to where those officers would be allocated.
"We are hoping to get a couple new ones funded by the province because we didn't get them the last time," St. Onge said. "I'd be surprised if we don't get at least one."
