Saskatchewan's provincial budget has had its fans and its critics, with Estevan's mayor saying he's on the positive side.

Mayor Roy Ludwig, in his initial reaction to the budget, pointed to a few items that he feels help out Estevan.

"We didn't have any increases in the budget as far as taxes, we were happy about that. We got a 14 per cent increase in the revenue sharing, we were also pleased with that."

"Also the fact that although they didn't put money into the MRI, they are going to support the MRI in Estevan moving forward, so we'll see what that all looks like. We'll have to talk to Minister Carr, and we're excited because as we've been after the MRI for some time now, so that's a positive as well."

The provincial budget also provided some general budget increases, which included an 8.8 per cent increase for education and an over 10 per cent increase for healthcare.

Ludwig says Estevan will hopefully see good results from both those sectors.

"Healthcare continues to need more money and we're all aware of that. So we appreciate the influx of money into healthcare and education as well. We do understand that the education side needs more money and we're hoping that collectively between the province and the teachers that they can get their issues settled and roll up their sleeves and get back to work."

A $273 million deficit with the recent budget has drawn some critics, with Ludwig saying the province will have to be careful.

"Every government, every department, municipal, provincial, and federal have to keep their eyes on the dollars and you have to be careful on the debt. You don't want that to get ahead of you and you know if you get into too much debt, of course, it impacts your ability in many areas because it takes more and more money just to pay interest on that debt, so you have to be cognizant of debt absolutely."

Ludwig says he's looking forward to working with Estevan MLA and Minister of Highways Lori Carr for the rest of the current city council term.