Report shows an improvement in financial forecast but City still anticipates requiring use of Financial Stabilization Reserve Fund at year-end
Winnipeg, MB – The City of Winnipeg’s financial status and forecast report to October 31, 2021 discloses a projected deficit in the tax-supported operating budget (General Revenue Fund) of $13.5 million and an additional shortfall of $6.8 million in Transit. This financial status and forecast report will be presented at the meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance on December 9, 2021.
The latest report shows an improvement of $3.8 million in the forecasted shortfall in the tax-supported operating budget and an improvement of $2.8 million in Transit. It is still expected that the Financial Stabilization Reserve Fund will be used to cover any forecasted shortfall in the General Revenue Fund.
The City had built $61.2 million in anticipated COVID-19 financial impacts into the 2021 Budget, but have identified an additional $17.3 million in COVID-19 financial impacts for the year included in this report. This has resulted in an estimated total of $78.5 million in COVID-19 financial impacts to the City for 2021.
“COVID-19 has had a major impact on the City’s finances throughout this year and we expect that to be the case into 2022 as shown in the tabling of the latest preliminary budget update,” said Scott Gillingham, Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance. “While it is encouraging to see improvements in this latest report, we still anticipate that the City will be using the Financial Stabilization Reserve Fund to cover any shortfall.”
The City’s financial update is publicly available through the Decision Making Information System (DMIS).