The exterior of Saint John City Hall is pictured in this file photo. (Staff photo)
Saint John’s senior finance manager says the city is right on track with its 10-year financial plan.
Finance committee members were presented with a scorecard on the city’s financial health this week.
“The financial picture I’ve shown you here tonight is a much better story than the one that was told five years ago,” said Dawn Arbour, the city’s senior finance manager.
The scorecard shows the city is meeting or exceeding eight of 10 measures included in the plan.
Among some of the highlights, the debt per capita stands at $1,394 compared to the base goal of $1,427.
Cumulative debt reduction is forecast to be $7.4 million this year, more than $2 million higher than the base target of $5.1 million
The city also maintained its tax rate at $1.785 per $100 of assessed value this year with plans to reduce it by one cent next year.
But Arbour said the city fell short in two categories, including assessment growth, which only reached $1.03 per cent this year.
“Due to a combination of factors, mostly COVID-19 assessment category reductions, we did not meet our 1.5 per cent target,” she said. “We do not expect, however, the same result in 2022.”
Arbour said COVID-19 also contributed to the city not meeting its target related to the unconditional grant it receives from the province.
This year’s unconditional grant makes up 11.6 per cent of total revenue compared to the target of 10.1 per cent.
Arbour commended the committee for its work on boosting reserves, which now stand at $14 million compared to $2 million in 2016.
“However, like any other plan, updates are required on an ongoing basis in order to consider new information and the experience that we have acquired,” she said.
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