City of Regina's proposed budget includes average tax increase of $27 a month or $320 a year
Initial budget proposal goes in front of executive committee Wednesday
The City of Regina's preliminary budget proposal includes an increase of $27 a month or $320 a year for the average homeowner.
Those figures stem from a proposed mill-rate increase of 8.5 per cent and utility rate increase of 5.8 per cent.
City administration admits that the proposed increase to the mill rate, which determines the tax per dollar of a property's assessed value, is higher than in past years.
Past budgets have prioritized low mill rate increases over covering the cost of civic operations, according to a report heading to the city's executive committee on Wednesday. Those budgets did not adequately reflect the costs of delivering city services.
"That approach is no longer sustainable or responsible," the report reads.
The proposed increase would help expand the city's operations while maintaining service levels, according to administration.
The report says only a small fraction of the proposed mill rate increase would support civic operations. The rest comes from previous council decisions such as capital projects, and funding for the Regina Police Service and Regina Exhibition Association Limited.
Regina Public Library budget proposal released
Meanwhile, the Regina Public Library (RPL) outlined the funding it says it needs in the upcoming city budget.
It's asking for a 4.6 per cent increase to the library mill rate, which works out to about $0.80 per month or $9.60 per year for the average homeowner. RPL Board Chair Marj Gavigan said that is less than the cost of one paperback book.
The library said it needs the increase to make up for past decisions. Over the past 10 years the average yearly library mill rate increase has been 2.25 per cent.
"Like the city, a significant portion of our budget goes to salaries. This is one reason why a mill rate as low as 2.25 per cent increase is not sustainable," Gavigan said.
The money would also be used to upgrade the RPL's cybersecurity tools to help prevent cyberattacks.
The RPL is also looking for council to reaffirm a commitment made by the previous city council. In July, city council under then-mayor Sandra Masters agreed to commit between $92 million and $119 million in debt financing for the building of a new main library branch.
Gavigan is hopeful that the mill rate and the debt financing will be approved.
"If we don't have a commitment for both the debt funding and the mill rate increase over five years, those developers who said they'd work with us and those funders who would be interested in donating to the project will fade away," she said.
RPL executive director of finance and strategy Curtis Smith said consultants, architects and legal advisors have already been hired to get the process of building a new central library underway.
The request for proposal (RFP) process is already underway and is expected to wrap up by the end of the year. A design process is expected to evolve over 2026 with construction planned for 2027 to 2029.
Smith said that if everything comes together perfectly, the new central library would open in 2030.
Both the library budget proposal and the preliminary city budget will be discussed at a meeting of Regina's executive committee on Wednesday.
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