'Let's activate our downtown': Library funding dominates opening day of Regina budget debate

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 3:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Budget deliberations are continuing. Check backmost for updates.

A ample delegation from the Regina Public Library dominated the city's fund statement league connected Monday, requesting a ample mill complaint summation to money its operations and its downtown renewal project. 

Regina metropolis assembly volition statement the 2025 fund implicit the adjacent 5 days, culminating with a last ballot connected Friday.

The City of Regina projected the caller fund connected March 4. The city's operating fund is projected to turn by 11 per cent to $841 million. That summation is planned to beryllium funded chiefly by a ample mill complaint hike.

Monday's league was focused chiefly connected the room funding. Presentations from different groups, including Age Friendly Regina and End Poverty Regina, besides took place.

The mill complaint is projected to summation by 8.5 per cent, portion the inferior mill complaint is projected to summation by 5.8 per cent. According to the Saskatchewan Cities Act, cities cannot run unbalanced budgets.

The Regina Public Library, which is funded by a abstracted mill rate, is requesting an summation of 5.5 per cent to fund the Central Library renewal project, and an further 4.58 per cent for its regular operations budget. 

According to the library, the renewal task summation would correspond with an summation of 96 cents per period for the mean homeowner, portion the operations fund summation would mean an further monthly summation of 80 cents.

"A cardinal room is the bosom of a city, its intelligence and taste life. It's a living, breathing instauration that grows and evolves with the community. In Regina, that maturation has for galore years been curtailed by our existent building," said Marj Gavigan, seat of the library's board. "Let's activate our downtown."

The task to renew the downtown library, either done a renovation of the existent gathering connected 12th Avenue oregon a caller gathering astatine a antithetic location, has been debated for respective years. 

In July 2024, the erstwhile metropolis assembly approved up to betwixt $92 cardinal and $119 cardinal successful indebtedness backing for the project.

The room confirmed that it had conscionable implicit $20 cardinal successful a backup fund, an magnitude that Coun. George Tsiklis noted was higher than the combined rainy time funds of the police, parks committee and REAL district. 

"Why are you asking for pennies erstwhile you person tens of millions astatine your disposal?" Tsiklis asked. 

In response, the library's CEO, Jeff Barber, noted that that money isn't a regular rainy time fund, it exists solely to money the renewal project. 

Not granting the 5.5 per cent summation for the room renewal task could hold it for different year, Gavigan said. The room says it volition taxable proposals to developers for the task successful December.

"If we don't person that committedness of funding, what developer volition respond to that RFP (request for proposal) if they don't deliberation the backing is determination to wage for it?" Garvigan said.

Debate implicit whether to physique a caller gathering oregon renovate the existing gathering continued connected Monday, with Garvigan stating the committee doesn't cognize whether the erstwhile would beryllium cheaper.

Debate volition proceed successful the afternoon.