Riders rent reduction a 'contractual matter', no legal threat: Reynolds
11h ago
The $1.33M rent reduction comes from what the club owed during seasons impacted by the pandemic.
Regina homeowners will be paying more in property taxes in 2022 — but not as much as was expected.
On Friday, city council approved an increase in the mill rate of 3.4 per cent. The proposed budget released Nov. 23 called for a mill rate increase of 3.49 per cent.
The increase works out to be about $6.15 more per month for a Regina homeowner with an assessed home value of $315,000.
That increase is broken down with a 1.13 per cent increase to civic operations, a 0.45 per cent increase for Mosaic Stadium, a 0.5 per cent increase for the Recreation Infrastructure Program, and a 1.32 per cent mill rate increase for the Regina Police Service.
“We have funding in for the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, we have funding in for harm reduction, for adaptive recreation, for paratransit expansion (and for) heritage conservation,” Mayor Sandra Masters said after Friday’s meeting.
There will be $1.4 million for initiatives that will enhance community safety and well-being for Regina residents and $1.2 million to create safer sidewalks by addressing a backlog in sidewalk maintenance.
Masters said council was able to slightly reduce the proposed mill rate increase after SGI came forward with more funding for a plane that will be used by the Regina Police Service.
“With the funding from SGI, it reduced by almost a quarter of a million dollars the capital contribution carried forward so we were able to put it back and apply it to the mill rate,” Masters said. “Every little bit helps.”
Masters said infrastructure is one of the concerns councillors often hear from residents.
The city budget will include a number of road projects such as $18.2 million for the Street Infrastructure Renewal Program, $12 million for the Residential Roads Renewal Program,$10 million for Saskatchewan Drive corridor improvements, $10 million for the Pinkie Road upgrade (Sherwood Drive to Dewdney Avenue), and $5 million for bridge infrastructure renewal.
There also is to be a five per cent utility rate increase. Included in this is two per cent dedicated to accelerating the replacement of lead pipe connections throughout Regina. The rate increase will be $7.25 per month for the average homeowner.
That investment will go to wastewater, stormwater services, and providing drinkable water for Regina residents.
City council voted on the budget after three days of deliberations. On Wednesday, council approved the $92.8-million budget proposal put forward by the Regina Police Service.
Masters said there were some lessons learned about how councillors can improve efficiency when it comes to budget meetings.
“We should have a pre-budget meeting just about the five-year capital just because there are always things that move,” she said. “We know that with supply chain issues and inflation, there is going to be some infrastructure costs that are going to go up and so what does that look like in the next five-year plan.
“Rather than sit through that capital portion of the budget, it would be good to have a briefing and understand what’s different from the last time we saw this (and) where have things moved in terms of timing.”