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City tallies financial windfall from Hounds playoffs

Taxpayers major beneficiaries from Hounds' near-win at OHL championships
2018-03-25 Hounds vs Spirit Game 2 DMH-13
Dash celebrates as Soo Greyhounds defeated Saginaw Spirit in game 2 of round 1 of the OHL Playoffs at the Essar Centre on Sunday, March 25, 2018. Donna Hopper/SooToday

Soo Greyhounds didn't quite manage to bring home the 2017-2019 Ontario Hockey League championship trophy, but their extended playoff run deposited an extra $200,000 in city coffers.

News of the fiscal windfall from extra game days at what was then the Essar Centre is buried in the minutiae of a third-quarter financial report to be presented to City Council Monday night.

The report, prepared by Jacob Bruzas, the city's manager of audits and capital planning, cites the Hounds' contribution to what's expected to be a year-end budget surplus between $1 million and $1.5 million.

Gateway Casinos - Sault Ste. Marie also chipped in an unexpected $75,000 to the surplus, from municipal contribution payments.

The city's public works budget is currently $350,000 in the black, but that's likely to change if winter arrives early.

Bruzas says a harsher-than-normal early winter season and resulting snow-removal costs will quickly eat up that $350,000 surplus.

"If the city endures a light early winter season, any positive variance experienced in winter control will be transferred to reserve at year end," Bruzas says.

Other budget variances from the third-quarter report:

  • Sault Transit is expecting a year-end budget shortfall of $350,000, attributed to increased repair and fleet maintenance costs
  • Fire Services benefit costs are running $200,000 over budget due to cancer-related Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims
  • Retiree healthcare benefits for city employees are $225,000 over budget. "These benefits are self-insured and difficult to budget for," says Bruzas. "The 2019 budget for this area will be increased to reflect the trend."

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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