The City of Winnipeg’s deficit continues to shrink, although it’s still projected to be almost $23 million by the end of 2020 — a significant decline from the more than $30 million predicted last month.
The city said Friday that most of the losses in its third-quarter financial status and forecast report come from a huge transit shortfall — over $32 million.
The city said it had to take action to cut costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and without those measures, the deficit would be nearly $60 million.
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The numbers released Friday, however, don’t include the funding expected from the federal government shortly.
The city said it’s waiting on formal communication from the province before receiving the municipal portion of the federal Safe Restart program funds, and that Winnipeg’s allocation will be $42.2 million.
“The federal Safe Restart program has provided funding that will greatly assist the city’s ongoing efforts to address the financial challenges caused by COVID-19,” said city finance chair aid Coun. Scott Gillingham.
“Safe Restart funds will be allocated to address the city’s significant forecasted shortfall in Transit, as well as to offset revenue losses in the operating budget. We will continue to be vigilant and carefully manage the ongoing financial impacts of the pandemic.”
Public information on the city’s financial update is available through the Decision Making Information System (DMIS).
