City finances trending toward year-end surplus

The City of Winnipeg's year-end deficit has almost been eliminated and will likely wind up becoming surplus when all the accounts are settled

The latest financial status report published by the city projects a $600,000 deficit at the end of 2016, based on figures from the end of September. The annual operating budget for 2016 is slightly more than $1 billion.

Accounts from the end of August suggest the city will havea $3.1-million deficit at the end of 2016, says a report that goes before council's finance committee onThursday.

That's down from a $3.1-million deficit projection at the end of August and the$5.4-million year-end deficit projected at the end of June. Corporate finance officials say they expect the city to wind up with a balanced budget by the time the final 2016 figures are tallied, in February 2017.

• Year-end deficit on way down
• City of Winnipeg on track to post $5.4M year-end deficit

"The public service anticipates that the projected deficit will decrease over the remainder of the year," controller Paul Olafson writes in a report that comes before council's finance committee on Thursday.

• Bowman punts growth-fee dissidents from inner circle

That meeting will be the first for new finance chairman Scott Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands), who was appointed to executive policy committee on Thursday.

Gillingham and Mayor Brian Bowman will present the 2017 budget on Nov. 22.