Regina mayor worried about provincial belt tightening

The mayor of Saskatchewan's capital city says he's concerned about receiving less money from the province this year.

At this week's Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention, Premier Brad Wall made no secret that all government programs are at risk when it comes to taming the provincial deficit.

The deficit could total as much as $1.5 billion, and Wall has committed to bringing that number down substantially.

"We are concerned when we hear everything is on the table," Fougere said.  "We hear revenue sharing and potential downloading of different services we do have (is at risk)."

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Currently, provincial municipalities receive the equivalent of one per cent of the PST in a revenue sharing agreement. The money pays for everything from transit, roads and water treatment systems. 

However, the provincial government is now reconsidering the arrangement, and has hinted the formula might change.

"We are an urban province more and more," he said. "So, when the province talks about the services they want to cut, how they want to balance their budget...that they understand you don't cut everything."

Many municipalities have already drafted their 2017 budgets, which would need to be revised if the revenue sharing formula changed.

Wall said the province hasn't made a final decision on any provincial spending. The budget will be released next month.