Saint John budget contingent on province

Saint John city council passed its 2011 budget Monday night, but it was contingent on the province giving the city more time to top up its employee pension fund.

The fund faces a $129 million deficit, which is increasing at a rate of about $750,000 a month. City staff are already facing wage freezes and reduced pension benefits as the city tries to keep up.

The $138.5 million budget passed held the property tax rate at 1.785, but if the provincial government rejects the pension payment deferral, property owners could face a bigger rate hike, cuts to city services and likely the loss of municipal jobs.

Coun. Patty Higgins said with that threat looming over city council, more belt tightening should have been done.

"I just feel that we're at the edge of a rope here and I'm not happy, I'm not satisified with it at all," said Higgins. "I'm satisfied with our needs and all the important good stuff, but I really don't think we're being as responsible as we should be."

Higgins wasn't the only councillor unhappy with the budget, but she was the only one who voted against it.

City staff are said to be working on a back-up plan in the event the province does not agree to extend the city's pension fund payment schedule by 25 years.

The 2011 budget approved an increase in the city's contribution to the pension plan by $2.5 million.

Other spending highlights included another $500,000 allocated to road repairs, a $185,000 increase towards tearing down derelict buildings, and a three per cent budget increase to the city's Leisure Services Department, that will see two new parks opened.

Cuts included $400,000 from the budget for the city's vehicle fleet, and a $40,000 decrease to Enterprise Saint John. That cut could be deeper after a six-month evaluation.

Saint John city officials were in Fredericton Tuesday making their case to Justice Minister Marie-Claude Blais. Coun. Chris Titus was optimistic Blais could be convinced to relax the rules.

"It's not going to cost them anything and these changes ... pensions and the difficulty in pensions are a reality in this province, this city, worldwide. So I believe they'll support the regulatory changes that we need, and eventually the legislative changes," said Titus.