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 have a $3.1-million deficit at the end of 2016, says a report that goes before council's finance committee on Thursday.

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.

"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.

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.