The provincial government released their 2019-20 fiscal budget this afternoon and it's forecasting a surplus, as previously promised.

"The theme of the budget is 'the right balance' for provincial budget 2019-2020," Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley said. "That's the key theme here, the budget is balanced this upcoming year and it's a path that we charted on a couple of years ago... there is a very small surplus forecasted." 

The surplus Hindley alluded to is projected to be $34.4 million, as the government is estimating their revenue to grow by $782 million (5.5 per cent) to sit at just over $15 billion. Their expenses also increase by about 2.6 per cent, bringing the total bill to around $14.99 billion.

"We’ve gone away from being as reliant as we were in the past on resource revenues, it makes up for about 12 per cent of the revenues this year, but it's more stable," he said. "We've got more people living in Saskatchewan so there are more people paying income tax, there is more people paying PST for example. Potash revenues have increased as well. The agriculture sector is strong and we're seeing some strength in that particular sector, so I think it's a wide range of revenues coming from a number of different areas and not so reliant on non-renewable resource revenues as in the past."

Healthcare is slated to receive nearly a third of the increased funding by the province - $123 million - with the Saskatchewan Health Authority getting around $113 million of that increase.

"In this particular budget we're continuing to invest in mental health and addictions services, there is about a $29 million increase for targeted mental health and addictions support," Hindley said. "Which bring that amount to $402 million, which is the largest ever commitment to mental health and addictions services in our history."

Prince Albert and Weyburn will receive some capital investment dollars for their hospitals, but there won't be any big-ticket items being built in the southwest within the next year that the provincial government will be funding.

"We've had the opportunity in our community to benefit from previous budgets where we got a new long-term care facility or a new joint-use school," he said. "There is other areas around the province and it's their turn. Whether it's Moose Jaw which is getting some new schools there or Weyburn which is in line to get a new hospital."

No tax hikes were included in the budget, however, a non-refundable tax credit for volunteer firefighters and volunteer medical first responders was announced.

"We felt that's important because those people do excellent work for not just our community of Swift Current, but in a lot of small rural communities in southwestern Saskatchewan," Hindley said.

The $3,000 tax credits would start in the 2020 taxation year and would be available to volunteer firefighters and volunteer medical first responders that work at least 200 hours that year.