Federal funds top up city coffers and soften COVID-19 cash crunch

Municipal politicians can thank the federal government for a financial jab that has helped the City of Winnipeg through a turbulent 2020.

$74.5 million from the government of Canada's safe restart agreement has helped cover massive losses in the transit department, poor revenues from parking and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city saved $11 million through a variety of measures, includingtemporary layoffs of non-permanent community services staff and transit workers, ahiring freeze and the reduction of discretionary spending.

Finance chair Scott Gillingham says the combination of those measures and federal money has helped the city weather thefinancial storm atleast so far.

"In the simplest terms, [it helped] fill the financial holes in 2020 that were created by COVID-19 and put us in a position to better address the impact of the pandemic in 2021," Gillingham said.

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The St. James councillor is cautious about the future though.

"We just don't know how long the pandemic will go. We don't know how deep the financial impact of the pandemic will be on the city's budget," Gillinghamsaid.

One budget was blown regardless of the pandemic the city estimates it will spend$41.8 million on snow removal and ice control,$6.8 million more than anticipated for the year.

The cash from the federal government has given Winnipeg breathing room in its financial stabilization reserve fund, forecast to be at $116.6 million at the end of 2020 ($47.9 million above the council-mandated minimum balance of $68.7 million).

The financial cushion in thereserve fund will help the city cope with ongoing pressure from the pandemic in 2021.