‘Do we actually need these new employees’: Saskatoon councillor challenges hiring proposal

WATCH: A Saskatoon councillor was questioning nearly 200 proposed new city jobs during budget deliberations on Tuesday

On the first day of Saskatoon budget deliberations, a councillor pressed administration on whether the city really needs more staff.

The city is preparing to hire 98 new Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) in 2026 and 95 in 2027.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer challenged the proposed staffing increases.

“When a supervisor or manager comes asking for additional FTEs — and there’s a lot of them in this budget — do we know that the people that perform in that area are maxed out?” Donauer asked.

“Are they all performing at a high level? Do we actually need these new employees?”

• Download the CTV News app to get Saskatoon breaking news alerts sent to your device

Council is finalizing the 2026–27 budgets, with property taxes projected to rise 7.43 and 5.92 per cent. Councillors will review 108 cost-cutting options in an attempt to lower those hikes.

City manager Jeff Jorgenson said FTE requests go through “a heavily scrutinized process.”

He said every city worker is expected to undergo “a performance review and performance plan for the year.”

“There’s no automatic FTEs,” Jorgenson said.

Jorgensen said the city’s population is growing by about 4 per cent, while civic FTE growth is about 1 per cent.

“We are absolutely leaning out the organization year-after-year, and have a long history of doing that,” he said.

In his opening remarks, Jorgenson outlined potential improvements, calling audits “absolutely essential to our future.”

He also pointed to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost productivity.

“We’re seeing AI and the opportunities be exponential,” he said

“Six months ago, we were talking about a cautious approach at the city. Now we are taking a bullish approach to AI.”

2026 Preliminary Budget: 98.2 new FTEs

• Saskatoon Police Service: 20.4 FTEs
• Saskatoon Public Library: 4.0 FTEs
• Civic Operations & Capital: 58.4 FTEs
• Civic Utilities: 16.4 FTEs

2027 Preliminary Budget: 95.3 new FTEs

• Saskatoon Police Service: 29 FTEs
• Saskatoon Public Library: 10 FTEs
• Controlled Corporations: 1.0 FTE
• Civic Operations & Capital: 49.7 FTEs
• Civic Utilities: 5.6 FTEs
• Civic Utilities: 5.6 FTEs