Mayor repeats warning of tight 2024 budget as city's Winnipeg Transit subsidies balloon

With a big shift in Winnipeg Transit's budget forecast over the next few years, Mayor Scott Gillingham warned Thursday for the second time this month that the city is facing a difficult budget in the year ahead.

The city says it expects to spend almost $20 million more on operating subsidies for Winnipeg Transit this year than it forecast in 2020.

That year, it pegged the expected 2023 transit subsidy at $70.8 million. Numbers released by the city Thursday say it will actually be $90.6 million.

By 2027, the gap between the 2020 forecast and the actual subsidy is expected to grow to nearly $37 million, the city says.

Rising fuel prices, lower ridership and reduced transit fares for low-income riders and children under 12 are all contributing to the widening gap the city must cover, the mayor says.

"The reason we noted this … is just to explain to Winnipeggers the state of our budget challenges, and the significant struggles we are having in developing this [2024] budget," Gillingham told reporters at city hall on Thursday.

The mayor has previously warned that expectations should be tempered for the upcoming city budget.

"I'm not saying there's any cuts to services at this point, but I'm just saying to Winnipeggers [and] stakeholders that we're having to make very difficult budget decisions through this process, and the city is not flush with funds."

Gillingham says covering the annual funding gap for transit would roughly equate to a five per cent property tax increase, but he's sticking to his promise of a three and a half per cent increase next year.

On Thursday, Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) tabled a notice of motion that asks the province to return to evenly splitting Winnipeg Transit's budget with the city.

That model ended in 2017, when the previous Progressive Conservative provincial government froze its funding for the city at 2016 levels as part of an effort to reduce the deficit.

However, Gillingham says he does not support that motion.

"I think I'd rather be working with the province on finding ways to meet our mutual, shared goals," he said. "I don't want to look at one specific, old model."

City wants provincial photo radar review

Discussions about city funding have already begun with the province, according to Gillingham, and transit will continue to be a priority.

"We'll find ways to ensure that transit is funded," said Gillingham.

Specifics about the upcoming budget will be revealed when it is tabled, but a date has not yet been set.

During city council's final meeting of the year on Thursday, Chambers also tabled a motion to ask the province to review its photo radar legislation, which has not been examined since it was passed in 2002. The province promised in 2019 to conduct a review.

"It's technology that was implemented back in 2002 and the way that the legislation was written, it was specific to that technology," Chambers, who also chairs the Winnipeg police board, told reporters at city hall.

He also said photo radar locations need to be updated too, as entire neighbourhoods have built up in the city over the last two decades.

Chambers said his motion was inspired by an increase in Winnipeg road crash fatalities. There were 22 last year, he said — more than double the nine deaths on Winnipeg roads in 2021, according to police.

"We have to look at all the contributing factors to why it was so high last year and adjust accordingly," said Chambers.

He suspects the photo radar issue has resulted in lost dollars for the city, but said "it's about road safety, it's not about revenue."

While Chambers said there are concerns that a review of the photo radar program would result in the province cutting it completely, Gillingham said he's not worried.

"Photo radar was set up with the understanding that it makes streets safer," he said. "If there's doubt on that, then let's get that information."

He wants to see the province conduct the review, since the current legislation "details what type of photo radar infrastructure can be used, and it's really limited because it's outdated."

Last week, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth gave a report to the police board that said not being able to use the latest technology affects the service's ability to target speeding and red light offences.

In a Thursday email to CBC News, the province acknowledged a promise to hire a consultant to review the effectiveness of photo radar, but said the COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans. It didn't say when a review would take place.

The public works committee will vote on the photo radar motion at its meeting next month, Chambers said.