Disappointment was a key watchword in the reaction to this year's provincial budget brought down on Wednesday by Finance minister Harry Van Mulligen, which saw increased revenues from high oil prices, but no significant increase in spending except for health, post-secondary education and the capital side of the budget.

Groups ranging from agricultural organizations to municipalities and K-12 school boards expressed disappointment that specific requests went unanswered in spite of an estimated $1 billion in extra revenues this year.

Billed as the 12th consecutive balanced budget, there are no tax increases or tax breaks in this budget, with health and post-secondary education receiving the bulk of any extra spending. Capital spending was up by 14 per cent for a total of $326.9 million.

The day after the budget, Agriculture minister Mark Wartman visited Weyburn and addressed a sparsely-attended audience on the budget at the McKenna Hall, and answered criticisms that there were no new dollars for agriculture in this budget after one of the toughest years ever for the province's number one industry.

Mayor Don Schlosser, who is also president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), expressed disappointment that their group's request for $10 million more in revenue sharing was ignored this year, increasing the possibility many municipalities will have to hike taxes this year.

"We definitely have a commitment from the premier and also from Urban Affairs minister Len Taylor we're going to sit down and come up with a new program that will be in place for next year's budget," he said, adding, "We definitely need something in place. We've heard the same story year after year, and it's going to come to a head. I definitely told the minister in no uncertain terms we're going to hold him to that promise."

The mayor said the most frustrating part of the situation is to hear the province talk about growing and expanding the provincial economy, but the province needs to realize this won't happen without the municipalities. Schlosser explained that municipalities have to give up significant concessions to bring in new industry, or help existing ones expand, which often involve tax concessions, while the provincial and federal governments continue to take their full share of all taxes.

The mayor also noted infrastructure grant monies that used to be a one-third split between federal, provincial and municipal governments are now a 50-50 split, where municipalities have to pay half the costs of any infrastructure projects.

"There's not enough money to go around. A board decides which program will go ahead and which ones won't. There's a lot of competition, plus a lot of communities can't come up with their share of the project costs. We've got cities in the same position," said Mayor Schlosser, adding Weyburn will now have to go head-to-head with municipalities like Moose Jaw and Prince Albert.

The SUMA president added he was surprised that by the end of the budget presentation, virtually every group present at the Legislature came away disappointed, with no one saying they were winners in the budget.

"When I looked around the rotunda at the Legislature, in all the years I've gone to the budget, that was the most dissatisfied group I've ever seen. With the amount of money available, there should've been some groups coming out of there happy," said Mayor Schlosser.

A first-time visitor to the budget proceedings at the Legislature was Weyburn first-year university student Shaheen Lotun, a 2004 graduate of the Weyburn Comp. Taking her first year while attending Southeast Regional College in Weyburn, she was chosen to represent all colleges in Saskatchewan at the budget presentation.

"They wanted to focus on education in this budget, and I can see that with the Centennial," she said. The budget included an announcement of a tuition fee freeze, the one-time Centennial University Tuition Grant which will hold tuition fees at last year's level.

"Tuition fees have increased steadily over the last 10 years," she said, adding of this one-time freeze, "It's not really a big thing for a person taking a four-year degree. They were also adding a program for graduate tax relief."

Asked if she thought the measures might help fellow students consider staying in Saskatchewan, she said it would be a big mistake for students to automatically think they have to go elsewhere for education and jobs, and said maybe now they will start to look here before considering going out of province if the opportunities aren't here.

Lotun is a political science major, and hopes to get her degree at the U of R, to be followed by law school.

At the public meeting on Thursday evening, Tribune area farmer David Pattyson expressed surprise that agriculture was "notably missing" from the budget. He said he realizes Wartman has been in talks with Ottawa about funding, particularly the province's share for the CAIS program, and Pattyson expressed the opinion that CAIS "completely misses the mark" for grain and oilseed producers.

"I would really feel better if you were telling us that you would be pursuing ag issues with the same vigour that's being put to the equalization issue," said Pattyson.

Wartman responded by pointing out his approach to putting programs together is both a federal and provincial focus, saying if a program won't work for this province, then it likely won't work for Canada either.

As to CAIS not working for grain and oilseed producers, Wartman contended many producers would argue with him on that point. There has been an effort to remove the requirement for farmers to make a deposit in order to take advantage of the CAIS program, but Wartman noted some provinces feel there is a need for producers to buy in to such a program, which he said he doesn't understand or support. The deposit requirement, meanwhile, has now been pushed back to March 31, 2006 while the provinces and Ottawa continue to work the details out.

For producers who came out of last year's harvest with a high quantity of low-grade grain, Wartman said he is pressing Ottawa for immediate short-term cash to help farmers. He has heard there is something under development that will help farmers, but as of the time of the meeting, he did not have any further details about the aid he expects will be coming. An announcement from the federal government has, in fact, now been made, as the federal Ag minister revealed on Tuesday (March 29), with details to follow, with aid coming for both grain and beef producers.

"We are working diligently to get a better deal for farmers. We feel farmers have got a raw deal from the federal government. We're in there digging, and I'm passionate about that. It's not just us, it takes the farm groups like APAS and the NFU. We're pushing uphill against a government that hardly knows we're here," said Wartman.

Pattyson pointed out that Saskatchewan farmers have done well to diversify, "but there comes a point in time that (downward) trend in income has to turn around if this province is going to survive."

In an interview later, Wartman added he would also like to see corporations who sell farm inputs to take some responsibility, noting inputs are a large cost to farmers, and some may not be able to afford to plant a crop this year.

"They're going to have to be a part of the solution, because they're making a fortune. It can't be all borne by the taxpayers of Saskatchewan," said the minister, adding the least that a corporation can do is drop the price on some of their inputs to make it easier on farmers this spring.

Resident Ross McMurtry asked the minister if the budget was based a forecast of a continuing high price of oil, and that the ag sector will have a more normal year for production.

Wartman noted Finance officials have done fairly well in their forecasting so far, and said in his view their forecast on the oil price is on the conservative side, predicting it will be an average of $41 a barrel through 2005. As for a return to normal ag production, he noted that current moisture levels in the province so far indicate a good start to the coming growing season.

Small businesses also came out disappointed in this budget, said the new president of the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, Trent Jordens.

He agreed with Mayor Schlosser's point about the local level providing incentives to bring new companies in to the city, saying there has to be input as well from the provincial and federal levels to be fair.

Jordens said the proposed business tax review will be a good thing, "if they're going to do something about it, and as long as they listen."