The Estevan city council held its annual budget day today, discussing how the City would be handling finances going into the new year.

Overall, expenses were up for both the general operating expenditures and the utility expenditures.

General operating expenditures rose to $24,462,938 in 2023 from the $24,212,014 budgeted for 2022.

Utility expenditures were estimated at $5,563,734 for 2023, up from 2022's $5,412,041.

Many of those increases are likely caused by inflation - as many areas have percentage-point increases affecting wages, supplies, and other factors.

Some increases are larger - including over $100,000 more in the 2023 budget for snow and ice, along with rises for food, beverage, and alcohol supplies.

Revenue from both general operations and utilities is expected to be slightly higher than in 2022, with that coming in at $32,229,880.

One large increase in revenue is coming from the Canada Community Building Fund - that's expected to double from 2022's amounts, up to just above $700,000.

Another increase is expected from food and beverage alcohol and their accompanying services, which are expected to more than double to $230,000 and $400,000 respectively.

In total, the City of Estevan is expecting 2023's budget to have a net surplus of $2,203,209.

Payments to debts are scheduled to be worth $3,543,770 for the year, bringing that total down to $10,414,460.