Winnipeg expecting larger budget surplus of $8.7M for 2017
Bartley Kives | CBC News | Posted: January 3, 2018 5:16 PM | Last Updated: January 3, 2018
Change due in part to $2.7M increase in projected tax revenue from new developments
Winnipeg is expecting a bigger budget surplus for 2017.
Winnipeg's corporate finance office is projecting a year-end surplus of $8.7-million for last year, based on accounting from the end of November.
That's up from a previous projection of a $1.7-million surplus.
The change is due in part to a $2.7-million increase in projected tax revenue flowing to the city as a result of new developments opening up, city controller Paul Olafson wrote in a report to council's finance committee.
"This increase was due to the completion of complex subdivisions and related assessment and taxation transactions in 2017 instead of 2018 as initially expected," Olafson wrote.
Winnipeg Transit also reported an improvement in fare revenues and additional cost savings during the latter part of 2017, eliminating the need for a transfer of cash to the service, Olafson wrote.
The final surplus figure for 2017 will be known in February.
Winnipeg's total budget in 2017 was $1.08 billion, which places a surplus of less than $10 million within an accounting margin of error.