City council is keeping a close tab on their own 2025 budget, which may be in the red for the first time since 2016.

It passed a motion that will see the purse strings tightened on several areas of discretionary spending, including keeping jobs vacant for six months.

A second quarter financial report presented to council anticipates a deficit of $1.5 million to $2 million within city operations, and a total deficit of $3 million to $3.45 million, with its outside agencies, assuming current trends continue.

The city’s financial department and senior management are meeting monthly to analyze and recommend strategies, including cost mitigation strategies, in order to decrease the year-end impact.

Anticipated overages of the police services budget, now estimated to be $1.4 million, winter

See Full Page