City of Regina proposes mill rate increase of 3.25 per cent in 2020 budget

The City of Regina’s 2020 budget is proposing a mill rate increase of 3.25 per cent.

That will result in an additional $5.60 per month, or $67.20 per year, in taxes for a Regina homeowner with an assessed property value of $350,000.

Despite city administration touting the hike as the “lowest mill rate increase in a decade” during the 2020 proposed release Friday, Mayor Michael Fougere would still prefer to see it go down.

“From my perspective, I’d like to see a lower mill rate. I think we can do better,” he said, noting an increase under three per cent would be more acceptable.

Fougere added he wouldn’t entertain any talk of service cuts to make up for a lower mill rate increase should council make that decision when it deliberates the 2020 budget Dec. 9 and 10.

“I’m not in favour of reducing services; I’m in favour of reducing tax dollars — that’s where my mind is,” he said. “We have to find a way to be more creative and be very sensitive to what taxpayers want to say to us.”

The proposed mill rate includes the 0.45 per cent dedicated to the ongoing repayment of Mosaic Stadium, along with 0.5 per cent going towards a new Recreation Infrastructure Program.

The 0.5 per cent increase is expected to generate $1.25 million in 2020. By the time the dedicated increase ends in 2024, the administration said the Recreation Infrastructure Program will have generated $7 million.

According to city manager Chris Holden, implementing a tax devoted to culture and recreation will allow council to make more direct investments.

“A year ago at budget time, the administration had recommended the redevelopment of Wascana Pool and the administration did not recommend investment in Maple Leaf Pool. The administration did that for only one reason: A financial reason,” Holden recalled.

“Creating this type of fund will allow opportunities like that, so in the future as some of our other pools get to the end of their useful life — using Regent Pool or Massey Pool as an example — this fund should be able to provide the funding to reinvest and replace those types of facilities.

“It really does reposition the administration to make recommendations to council where they will now have a dedicated funding source which didn’t exist before and made it very difficult to get those projects to the top of the priority list for investment.”

The one per cent that used to be tacked on to the mill rate for the Residential Road Renewal Program ends in 2020 after five years, but that’s now permanently built into the city’s base budget.

The proposal forecasts a total of $472 million in revenue and expenses in 2020 — a $16-million jump from 2019. Fifty-five per cent of that total is made up of taxation revenue.

The budget also includes an increase of three per cent to the water utility rate that previously was approved by council for 2019 through 2021. The increase, which would amount to $4.14 per month for the average household in 2020, is to take effect Jan. 1.

The Capital Plan highlights for 2020 include:

• $30.6 million for road renewal, including $17 million for residential roads;
• $12 million for outdoor pools (specifically $7.5 million for Wascana Pool and $4.5 million for Maple Leaf Pool);
• $1.3 million for the redevelopment of the Regent Par 3 golf course; and,
• $1 million for the Ring Road Railroad Relocation Project.

Other spending priorities for 2020 include:

• $44 million for Regina Fire and Protective Services;
• $40 million for transit services; and,
• $24 million for garbage and recycling collection and sustainable waste management.

The proposed budget also outlines $96 million for the Regina Police Service. Part of that money will go towards hiring 14 additional full-time equivalent staff members, four of whom — according to Fougere — will be sworn officers.

According to the city, its spending budget for the year got a boost from $12 million in one-time funding from the federal gas tax and from $3 million in savings incurred through a management review completed early in 2019.