The 2018 budget for the City of Thompson is now set in stone.

The 2018 Financial Plan was approved at Monday night’s Council meeting, though it was opposed by Councillors Wong and Matechuk. Councillor Matechuk said that the City is "needlessly going deeper into the public's pockets", while Councillor Wong said that he couldn't vote in favour as he didn't get what he wanted.

The $31.5M budget will see a $470,335 reduction in spending. All of the saved funds will be placed in a reserve to lessen the impact of further reductions in the future.

Mayor Dennis Fenske said that the challenges faced this year by Council are minimal compared to what the next council will face, and that it’s important to make changes now before the full impact of the reduced grant-in-lieu is felt.

Part of that reduction of cost includes the elimination of all City of Thompson summer camps, as well as the reduction of hours and service for the T.R.C.C. and Norplex Pool.

Councillor Kathy Valentino, the chair of the City’s finance committee, said that the challenge for future councils will be to further reduce operating costs while finding new ways to re-invest in the community.

The City will be going forward with multiple capital projects, which will be funded without any money from property tax revenue for the sixth year in a row. Those projects include road renewal along Station Road, an additional transit bus, and extension of the multi-use path network.

The full budget can be found here, and the budget presentation can be found here.