[5:43] 1400 hours and I will call the meeting to order.
[5:47] I will note that we are meeting on Treaty 6
[5:49] Territory, which is the traditional homeland of the May T
[5:51] people. And we will confirm that Councillor Donauer, Councillor Ford,
[5:58] are present absent, or sorry, is anybody online. Not yet.
[6:04] Are we expecting Councillor Jeffries to be online? Yeah, he
[6:08] indicated he would be, but I don't see him yet.
[6:11] All right, so absent then, our Councillor Dubois and the
[6:15] mayor. I'm gonna ask for confirmation agenda, but we do
[6:19] need one minor change. It needs someone to make a
[6:22] motion to pull the in - camera item to and
[6:26] postpone it to next month. Can I have somebody move
[6:28] that? Thank you, Councillor Ford. Any opposed. That carries. I
[6:33] should also confirm that I have confirmed with the city
[6:36] clerk that this is quorum. So three people do make
[6:40] up quorum. I just wanna make that clear today. Next,
[6:45] we're gonna have any declarations of conflict of interest. Not
[6:50] seeing any adoption of minutes. Can I have somebody move
[6:53] the adoption emits? Thank you, Councillor Donauer. Any discussion. Any
[6:58] opposed. That carries. We have no unfinished business, and so
[7:03] we're gonna jump right into item 6. 2. 1 proposed
[7:09] marquees, sorry, industrial land exchange, Mr. Hack. Take it away,
[7:14] please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This report is seeking approval
[7:18] to proceed with a land swap with York Realty in
[7:21] the Marquis Industrial Area. As part of preparing phase 12
[7:24] of Saskatoon lands Marquis Industrial Land Development, Saskatoon LAN contacted
[7:29] York Realty as an adjacent owner to discuss servicing timelines
[7:33] through these conversations. York Realty proposed an exchange of lands
[7:36] that would improve site configurations within each ownership area. Appendix
[7:41] I and two provides an overview of the land areas
[7:43] being recommended to be exchanged. And due to the equal
[7:46] amounts of land proposed for the exchange, there are no
[7:48] financial implications to the proposed transaction. Without, two recommendations included
[7:54] in the report, and a min would be happy to
[7:55] answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. Hack. I will open
[8:00] it up to questions. All right, Councillor Ford, and I
[8:06] don't have a screen working, so I'll just leave it
[8:08] to. Thank you. Thank you. Chair. I just had one
[8:12] question. Are they equivalent swaps? And is the market value
[8:18] the same. Through the chair, yes, and yes. Okay, great,
[8:24] thank you. All right. So this is just a straightforward
[8:31] land exchange, same value, same everything. So is my understanding.
[8:36] So if we have no further questions of administration, any
[8:39] comments. All right, I need somebody to move it. Councillor
[8:43] Ford, thank you. We'll call the question any opposed. That
[8:48] carries. Item 6. 2. 2, land acquisition for link BRT,
[8:53] first avenue, South in 19th Street East. Administration. Thank you,
[8:59] Mr. Chair. This report is seeking to acquire approximately 10,
[9:03] 200 square feet of land for the purpose of establishing
[9:06] a connection between First Avenue South and 19th Street East
[9:10] for the link bus rapid transit system. This acquisition is
[9:14] integral to the link blue line route, as it would
[9:16] allow buses to travel north along First Avenue from 19th
[9:19] Street to 20th Street and is required regardless of whether
[9:22] dedicated transit lanes are provided on First Avenue or not.
[9:26] Total purchase price for the land is 180, 000 dollars
[9:29] or 180, 250 dollars and conditions related to the agreement
[9:34] are included in the report. The funding for this acquisition
[9:37] would come from the link bus rapid transit capital project.
[9:41] There are two recommendations included in the report, and a
[9:43] min would be able to answer any questions there may
[9:45] be. And with that, I will open it up to
[9:48] any questions. And seeing none, are there any comments. Seeing
[9:55] none, I will call the question. Sorry, do we have
[9:58] somebody move this yet. No, sorry, I have somebody, thank
[10:01] you Councillor Donauer. I'll call the question any opposed. That
[10:06] carries. Next, item 6. 2. 3 EPC Project update and
[10:11] loan conversion request, Mr. Hack. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This
[10:16] report provides an update on the City's Energy Performance Contracting
[10:20] Project, as well as Seek's Approval to convert the existing
[10:23] variable rate line of credit into a fixed - term
[10:26] loan. The report in Appendix I provide a summary of
[10:29] the work completed under the Energy Performance Contracting Project, which
[10:32] includes 48 buildings with LED lighting upgrades, nine buildings with
[10:36] boiler upgrades, a replacements, and 28 buildings connected to a
[10:40] new building automation network to name a few examples. In
[10:44] total, the project costs were approximately 26 million, and were
[10:47] mainly funded through 12. 8 million dollars from the Civic
[10:50] Building Comprehensive Maintenance Reserve and 11. 6 million from boring,
[10:54] which is being repaid through Utility Savings. Up until this
[10:58] point, the project has been utilising a variable rate line
[11:01] of credit for the borrowing funding, as this has allowed
[11:03] the project to proceed in phases and not take on
[11:06] boring costs until phases are completed. Now that the phases
[11:09] of this project are complete, administration is recommending converting the
[11:13] existing outstanding principle loan of 10. 6 million into an
[11:17] 18 year fixed loan. Converting this into a fixed loan
[11:21] provides the project with more payment certainty, as well as
[11:24] reduces the amount of administrated effort required each year as
[11:28] interest rates fluctuate. With that, there is one recommendation included
[11:31] in the report, and at men would be happy to
[11:33] answer any questions. All right, having said that. Can I
[11:36] have somebody move the item, please? Councillor Ford, do we
[11:39] have questions. Okay. Councillor Ford. Thank you.
[11:53] 61, 000 in annual savings. Well, the initial annual debt
[11:58] servicing is around 973, 000. And my one question is,
[12:02] how is the gap funded. And what happens if the
[12:07] utility savings fall below the fixed payment in the future
[12:10] years? Yeah, through the
[12:20] chair, I don't know if Ms. Selther or Ms. Thieves
[12:23] any other additional context to add. Right now, the projected
[12:28] utility savings would work within the 18 - year, fixed
[12:32] payment term, if that was to change at any given
[12:34] time, we would have to come back to committee to
[12:36] either adjust the loan, um, or with another alternative solution.
[12:42] Okay. I'm fine with that, thanks. You're okay, you're good
[12:46] with that? Okay. Any other questions for administration. Any comments.
[12:54] Alright, I will call the question. Are any opposed. That
[12:59] carries. Moving on to item 6. 3 information reports. Uh,
[13:04] we have 6. 3. 1 investment income follow - up
[13:07] report before we begin with these. Would anybody objectively move
[13:10] these in bulk. Can I, would you make that? Councillor
[13:14] Downour moves these together as one item. So we'll proceed
[13:18] with item 6. 3. 1 follow - up report. Mr.
[13:22] Hack. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This report provides an update
[13:26] on the city's investment income forecast for 2026 and 2027,
[13:31] as well as addresses the direction provided by committee at
[13:34] the April 8, 2026 standing policy committee on finance meeting.
[13:39] As outlined in the report, the city's approach to budgeting
[13:42] and utilising investment income has changed significantly since introducing equities
[13:46] and alternative investments into the city's investment portfolio. The city's
[13:51] approach now includes providing an operating budget contribution as general
[13:55] revenue to support core services and reduce property tax requirements.
[13:59] And in 2026, this is set at 17. 63 million,
[14:03] and is to be provided regardless of how the city's
[14:06] investment portfolio performs. Any remaining surplus or deficit that is
[14:10] actually realised in the City's investment portfolio is provided two
[14:14] or from the Investment Income Reserve. The amount provided for
[14:18] in the operating budget is generally recommended to be conservative,
[14:22] as this allows for fluctuations in the city's investment earnings
[14:25] and the investment income to be a source of capital
[14:27] funding in the future. However, based on 2025's net investment
[14:32] earnings forecast of 25. 73 million, and potentially up to
[14:36] 32, 06, room to adjust the city's operating budget investment
[14:41] income in 2027 while continuing to be conservative. As such,
[14:45] the administration is currently working on the 2027 budget update,
[14:49] and as part of that, we'll be recommending an increase
[14:51] to the City's investment income amount, which is included in
[14:54] the operating budget. An increase like this could be used
[14:57] for a variety of reasons, including reducing budgetary risk in
[15:01] other areas we know have been overstated, such as franchise
[15:04] fees, grants and loose, or other general revenues. Enhancing service
[15:08] levels or programs through an expenditure increase, or reducing the
[15:12] 2027 property tax requirement. At this point, the administration is
[15:16] likely to recommend a combination of these adjustments, and we'll
[15:19] be presented for decision at budget deliberations. Without the report
[15:23] at this time is recommended to be received as information,
[15:26] but administration would be happy to answer any questions. All
[15:30] right, do we have any questions of administration. Seeing done?
[15:34] We'll move on to item 6. 3. 2. The 2026
[15:38] mid - year financial forecast. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This
[15:43] report provides a mid - year update on the City's
[15:46] Financial Projections as compared to budget for 2026. As outlined
[15:50] in the report, the city's SNOA Nice Management Program is
[15:52] currently forecasting a 3 million dollar deficit, largely due to
[15:56] the extended winter and snowfall in the first half of
[15:59] 2026, which saw snow up until the May long weekend.
[16:03] The SNO and ice management program is anticipated a typical
[16:07] second half of 2026, and this forecast could change based
[16:10] on whether experience later this year. The remaining civic budget
[16:14] is currently projecting an additional 1. 5 million dollar deficit.
[16:18] And although almost all areas are within there approved expenditure
[16:21] budgets, shortfalls in some of the city's general revenues, such
[16:24] as fines and penalties, franchise fees, and grants in lieu
[16:28] are placing additional pressure on the city being able to
[16:30] achieve a balanced budget in 2026. Combine the mid -
[16:35] year forecast is projecting a potential four and a half
[16:37] million - dollar deficit, which is a 0. 6 percent
[16:41] variance from the Approved budget. Overall, the administration remains focused
[16:46] on addressing and reducing any potential deficit through the remainder
[16:50] of 2026. However, if realised the city would look to
[16:53] rely on the SNOA ice management contingency reserve and fiscal
[16:57] stabilization were deserved, which have current balances of 8. 6
[17:00] million and 16. 3 million, respectively. These reserves were specifically
[17:05] created and funded to provide for funding in years where
[17:08] deficits are realised. With that, this report is recommended to
[17:12] be received as information and administration be opened to any
[17:15] questions. All right, do we have any questions for administration
[17:18] on this report? Not seeing any. We will move on
[17:23] to item 6. 3. 3. My property online service, Mr.
[17:27] Hack. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'll have Mr. Mike
[17:31] Voth, our director of Corporate Revenue present this report, as
[17:34] well as short PowerPoint presentation.
[17:54] Okay, good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of committee. Once
[17:58] again, my name is Mike Voth. I am the director
[18:00] of Corporate Revenue. Today it's my privilege to introduce you
[18:03] to an exciting new service. We'll be providing residents and
[18:06] customers of the city named My Property. Next slide, please.
[18:12] So to start off, I would like to take a
[18:15] bit of time to share a summary of what my
[18:17] property is. In a nutshell, my property is a secure
[18:22] online self - service portal for residents who prefer digital
[18:25] access to delivery of their utility assessment and property tax
[18:29] notices. It is a convenient, easy - to - use
[18:32] portal. That allows for customers to access current and pass
[18:36] notices, and it's all - in - one place. It's
[18:38] an optional service, meaning no one will be required to
[18:41] use it, but it does come at no cost to
[18:43] the customer. We anticipate launching my property in early October,
[18:49] uh, but of course that is contingent on the continued
[18:52] success of our user acceptance testing, which is currently ongoing.
[18:57] A communications plan has also been developed to support the
[18:59] launch, as there will be additional communications once launch day
[19:03] is set. Next slide, please. I did want to also
[19:11] take a bit of time to talk about the design
[19:13] and the key principles that went into the design of
[19:17] the service. Excuse me. You know, one of the key
[19:25] focuses for us was to ensure that the technology used
[19:28] provides customers with a secure platform to view their data.
[19:32] Uh, this includes an emphasis on cybersecurity protection and encryption.
[19:37] Another design philosophy was to ensure it will work on
[19:40] all commonly used modern browsers, and commonly used expected devices
[19:46] like desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, et cetera. In all
[19:51] cases, my property does use data pulled directly from CIS,
[19:54] which is the city's current billing system. So this will
[19:58] allow customers to have up - to - date access
[19:59] to the information that the City uses, just as if
[20:02] they were to contact a customer service representative in corporate
[20:05] revenue. Next slide, please. So the good news for folks
[20:11] like me is signing up for my property is very
[20:13] simple and quick, especially if you're an existing customer. All
[20:18] existing customers will have been provided a unique access code.
[20:23] These were provided over the last few months on utility
[20:26] bills assessment notices and property tax notices. Setting up for
[20:30] the account is just a few clicks of a button.
[20:33] It essentially links your individual customer number, uh, to that
[20:37] excess code and allows for the information in CIS to
[20:42] then flow through to the portal. New customers, however, will
[20:45] be able to also sign up for my property during
[20:47] account setup. Or once they've been entered into the system.
[20:50] And a good example of that would be those customers
[20:53] that sign up through Express address. It's a very common
[20:55] tool. Those folks will be able to sign up for
[20:58] my property once we've processed their entry into CIS. City
[21:06] staff will, of course, continue to promote the service and
[21:09] the adoption of electronic notices as they do today. Once
[21:15] signup is complete, a customer will have immediate access to
[21:17] their current and historical notices and bills, as well as
[21:21] other features similar to those provided by the current existing
[21:25] MyUtil account. And just for some additional context, the historical
[21:29] notices go back two years for utilities in seven years
[21:32] for property tax and assessment. Next slide, please. So I
[21:37] want to talk a little bit about the benefits for
[21:39] the customers. So why switch over? What's the point? Um,
[21:44] I biased view, but there are lots of benefits and
[21:47] efficiencies that customers will find in setting up their My
[21:50] property account, including delegating the ability to delegate access for
[21:55] assessment and property tax information to others, such as property
[21:58] managers. My property will allow easy maintenance, or excuse me,
[22:03] it maintains the current functionality that smart utility has. So
[22:07] for those folks that haven't explored that, you're able to
[22:10] set things like usage alerts, uh, graphing past consumption, weather
[22:14] overlays all of that type of information, again, all in
[22:17] one portal. One login. It'll allow, or provides links for
[22:23] customers to discover more asset, more detailed assessment data for
[22:29] their properties. And, uh, it will also be a great
[22:33] entry portal for applications for related services such as the
[22:37] help and CELT programs and more in the future as
[22:41] well. Next slide, please. Additional benefits for the customer include,
[22:46] it's a single secure login for all the account holders
[22:49] property information. So no need to go from site to
[22:52] site, depending on like the assessment tax tool versus my
[22:54] util. It's all in one place. Um, it provides the
[22:58] ability to download and save bills and notices at any
[23:01] time. And I think I would suggest the biggest benefit
[23:05] of my property is that it lays the foundation for
[23:08] future phases and plans, including online payment options for things
[23:11] like utility bills and property tax. The other sort of
[23:17] future plans or future phases will include a lot of
[23:20] assessment related information, including the ability to submit requests for
[23:25] information online as opposed to having to physically mail or
[23:27] drop them off to our office. Next slide, please. So
[23:33] the benefits to the city, there are several as well.
[23:36] Obvious one, paper and mailing cost savings. Uh, I can't
[23:40] provide you an exact figure today. Uh, but just for
[23:43] some context, each customer that switches from paper to electronic
[23:48] notice for their utility bill would save the city a
[23:50] dollar 75 per month. Whereas assessment and property tax would
[23:55] be about two dollars per notice The reason there's a
[23:57] slight difference is assessment and property tax notices tend to
[24:00] be additional pages. So the little bit of an increased
[24:03] cost in the printing. Maling is the same. Other benefits
[24:09] to the city include, you know, if we're able to
[24:12] provide customers with more self - service options, uh, this
[24:15] allows, or sorry, excuse me, we should see a hopeful
[24:19] reduction in queue times for the contact centre and corporate
[24:23] revenue. And we'll allow the staff there then to better
[24:27] focus on the more complex inquiries that do require the
[24:30] customer to reach out to us. Uh, the improved technology
[24:34] used for the implementation of the portal allows for higher
[24:37] customer traffic online. And also utilised a new firewall strengthening
[24:43] the cybersecurity for our web applications. Next slide, please. So
[24:50] a few common questions that we've already seen on social
[24:53] media since we've been our marketing campaign just to provide
[24:57] you with today. The first being, when can folks start
[25:01] using my property? We're currently scheduled to launch in the
[25:07] first week of October, again, like I mentioned prior. It's
[25:11] contingent on acceptable user acceptance testing. Um, but of course,
[25:15] as we get closer to, once that decision is made,
[25:18] we'll provide more information to customers. But first week of
[25:21] October, is our anticipated release date at this time. Second
[25:25] question, will I still receive paper notices if I create
[25:27] a MyProperty account? Again, it's an optional service. So customers
[25:31] can choose online, uh, access or paper access or a
[25:35] combination of both. There's no requirement one way or the
[25:38] other. Next slide, please. And sort of the last most
[25:42] common question we've seen already is I'm already on an
[25:46] eBill customer. Why do I need to set up a
[25:49] My property account? So there's a few different reasons for
[25:52] this. Number one being that, uh, the provincial legislation, the
[25:57] cities act does require us to, uh, allow customers to
[26:01] opt in to an e - notices for property tax
[26:04] and assessment, uh, whereas that's not a requirement for utility
[26:07] bills. So, um, that's one key piece we need to
[26:12] provide a customer with an access code so they can
[26:15] sign up and truly opt in to that service. Another
[26:19] reason is we've got over 50, 000 eBIL accounts active
[26:23] already. Some of those have been active for a number
[26:26] of years. And so a launch like this provides us
[26:29] with a great opportunity to start, you know, again, with
[26:33] a good check on making sure our information is as
[26:36] accurate and up to date as possible. So we want
[26:38] to make sure that the folks signing up for the
[26:40] service are indeed the folks who are in billing and
[26:44] requesting it. And with that, I will turn it over
[26:49] to you folks. If you do have any questions. All
[26:53] right. Do we have any questions. Councillor Fort. Mr. Both.
[27:01] Just, you know, on the financial piece, it talks about
[27:04] the savings. What was the cost for the software and
[27:09] labour? And that, is there any fees there? So there
[27:13] was no, uh, no official costs. There was no capital
[27:16] project or anything. This was all done in - house.
[27:19] Just want to give a big thanks to the digital
[27:22] technology and business transformation groups, as well as the Corporate
[27:25] Revenue staff. It was all designed, implemented, and tested in
[27:28] - house. Wow, that's fantastic. Just for your adoption rate.
[27:37] What's your forecast for year one of how many people
[27:39] will sign up. You have those kind of numbers or
[27:42] expectations in that regard. Yeah, thank you for the question
[27:46] through you, Mr. Chair. Our current utility eBill adoption rate
[27:52] is just shot. It's 49. 5 percent, I don't want
[27:58] to sit here and tell you that every single e
[28:00] - bill customer will adopt my property and go to
[28:03] e - notices for assessment and property tax because a
[28:05] lot of utility customers don't own property. You know, the
[28:08] lots of tenants and that type of thing. Um, I
[28:11] can promise you, however, that we're going to continue to
[28:13] market my property is diligently as we do eBill. There
[28:17] will be marketing campaigns as well. And because of the
[28:23] setup of my property, we have some new tools that
[28:26] will be available to us for some direct marketing. So
[28:28] for example, if you have a My property account, but
[28:32] you haven't ticked the box to get your notices electronically,
[28:35] we could reach out directly to them just to provide
[28:38] some marketing materials and see if we can, uh, increase
[28:41] the adoption rate that way. So I think it sounds
[28:46] like it's a great online portal. Is the plan to
[28:50] eventually eliminate e - bills and move everybody to my
[28:53] property. Thank you for the question. Through you, Mr. Chair.
[28:57] Yeah. So my property will replace eBuill altogether. Yeah. Okay.
[29:04] I notice it is a payment port of legislate. Would
[29:07] other applications be like a person could pay the parking
[29:10] ticket. And those types of things says any of that
[29:12] been ever considered. Through Mr. Chair. It's definitely a consideration.
[29:18] It would be a later phase. Uh, I know we
[29:20] were looking at getting the information available to customers as
[29:24] sort of the first step. I think phase two is
[29:26] more on the assessment side. Phase three is where we
[29:29] have some, some tentative plans about maybe looking at online
[29:32] payment portals, you know, four utilities and property tax. You
[29:37] know, I think other services would come online as well.
[29:40] That's a fairly big lift, like corporately. As I'm sure
[29:43] you can appreciate, but it's definitely in the plans. And
[29:46] this is the foundation. Anyway, thank you for the report.
[29:50] And thanks. Those are my questions. Thanks. All right, Councillor
[29:55] Donauer. Thank you. Uh, thanks for the report, Mr. Bauth.
[29:59] All good news. Uh, the report refers to residents and
[30:02] property owner. So I just want to clarify, is this
[30:05] residential only or would this be commercial industry property owners
[30:08] as well? Can they access the portal and find the
[30:11] same information about their properties as well? Through you, Mr.
[30:14] Chair. Yeah. Short answer yes. I think it was just
[30:17] residents versus property owners residents being utility customers property owners
[30:21] being anybody who owns property commercial or residential. Okay. So
[30:24] all the property classes. Yes. That's great. Thank you very
[30:27] much. All right. Seeing no further questions, any comments. Councillor
[30:33] Doner. With your indulgence, my comment isn't just about this
[30:40] report, but it is also both this report. I just
[30:43] wanted to say we're about to wrap up. This is
[30:47] a quick meeting. There wasn't a bunch of fireworks and
[30:49] this wasn't a very contentious meeting at all. But highlight
[30:52] all the good work that's being done at City Hall,
[30:55] including this report, Mr. Voth. You know, just today in
[30:58] the past 25 minutes, we've heard about an EPC project
[31:02] that's talking about investments in energy and efficiencies. And we're
[31:06] repaying that loan with the savings that we've achieved through
[31:09] investing in our own properties and upgrading them. Uh, investment
[31:13] income has created a problem and that we now have
[31:15] to decide what to do with the surplus. And Mr.
[31:18] Hack will be bringing some budget options for us about
[31:20] that. In our media financial forecast, despite snow events, we're
[31:24] working to balance the budget, but we've got healthy reserves
[31:27] for snow and fiscal stabilization. And for my property online,
[31:31] we're enhancing service to our customers and staying up to
[31:34] date with technology and looking towards the future. Despite the
[31:37] fact that this was kind of a vanilla meeting, that's
[31:39] a lot of incredible work that's being done across a
[31:42] bunch of different departments. And I just wanted to highlight
[31:44] that and say thank you to all of you. Well,
[31:47] I'm going to echo those sentiments as well. And I
[31:50] was thinking along the same lines. We did get through
[31:52] a very quick meeting and I'm not going to belabor
[31:54] this by standing on a soapbox. But I, I do
[31:57] think this is indicative of the good work. That are
[32:01] administration and people do, uh, I just want to commend
[32:04] everybody, uh, for the work that they do. And it
[32:07] allows us to make these meetings fairly quick in straightforward.
[32:10] So on that note, I believe, uh, we just need
[32:13] to call the question. Has anybody or any opposed. To
[32:19] these information imps? I see none. Thank you for coming.
[32:25] Are there any, previously given? Is there any urgent business,
[32:29] Mr. Heck. All right. Uh, anybody giving notice today. We
[32:37] have no request to speak, no communications. Our in -
[32:40] camera session has been pulled. And we have no rise
[32:44] in report. So on that note, I adjourn.