COVID-19 and snow activities have had a significant impact on City’s finances through 2021
Winnipeg, MB – The City of Winnipeg’s unaudited financial status report to December 31, 2021 discloses a deficit in the tax-supported operating budget (General Revenue Fund) of $22.3 million and an additional shortfall of $3 million in Transit. The City’s year-end financial update will be presented at the meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance on February 14, 2022.
The City had built $61.2 million in anticipated COVID-19 financial impacts into the 2021 Budget, but have identified an additional $11.8 million in COVID-19 financial impacts for the year included in this report resulting in an estimated total financial impact of $73 million for the year. Including the City's 2022 budget update, the cumulative impact of the pandemic on the City’s financial position is $206.6 million.
The Financial Stabilization Reserve Fund was reset entering 2021, which positioned the fund to support the City’s ongoing challenges with the pandemic. The fund will be used to cover the shortfall in the General Revenue Fund for 2021.
The City has an over-expenditure of $11.2 million related to snow removal and ice control activities in 2021. The total budget is $35 million for the year. Winnipeg accumulated approximately 67 centimeters of snowfall in a series of snow events through November and December. Snow clearing and ice control expenses in the last two months of 2021 were approximately $22.7 million.
“The financial impacts of COVID-19 will have cost the City approximately $206 million over three years,” said Councillor Scott Gillingham, chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance. “As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to focus on job growth, business recovery, and restoring transit ridership.”
The City’s financial update is publicly available through the Decision Making Information System (DMIS).