Regina city budget proposes 4.9% property tax hike

The City of Regina is proposing another increase to property taxes in its upcoming city budget.

The proposed 4.86 per cent hike includes the already approved one per cent increase dedicated to the residential roads renewal program.

The city said the increase would translate to an extra $92.40 per year on a home worth about $350,000. For a business of the same value, it would mean an extra $153.35 per year.

Mayor Michael Fougere said the proposal is tentative and council's final decision would be made at the end of the month.

"I would hope that council will look at reducing that number over the next month. But we'll have those conversations," Fougere said after the proposal had been unveiled. "This not an approved budget."

Fougere said he understands that no residents want to see another tax increase but he said council is obligated to provide the "best possible service" to city residents.

"I'm not interested in talking about service reductions," Fougere added. "This budget maintains services in a very tight financial circumstance."

The province scrapped grants-in-lieu to municipalities from the Crown corporations of SaskEnergy and SaskPower. Instead of paying property taxes for buildings of those companies, a flat rate grant was paid to municipalities.

Since that change, Regina has received $10 million less since 2016, with projected grants in 2018 to be $33.5 million. They were $43.7 million in 2016.

The increase comes after the city hiked taxes by 6.49 per cent in April 2017, an increase expected to bring in an extra $5.25 million. The city also approved a two per cent increase to the water utility rate, which takes effect Feb. 1.

Revenue for the city decreased by $4.6 million this year due to changes last year's provincial budget. 

In addition, the city is looking to increase police spending, with a $2.3-million increase on the agenda.

That would see police spending rise to $78 million from $76.5 million last year. The Regina Police Service is looking to use part of that increase to purchase an armoured vehicle, a new bomb suit and some infrastructure upgrades.

Overall spending in this year's budget has increased by $7.3 million, bringing the operating budget up to $443 million in 2018.

The city has cut spending by eliminating vacant positions, saving the city $1.7 million. 

As well, the city plans to dip into its funding reserves to increase capital spending by $12 million, which would bring it to $132 million in total in 2018.