Regina city council passes 2025 operating budget, mill rate increase now at 7.33%

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 2:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Regina metropolis assembly passed the 2025 metropolis operating fund connected Thursday. After councillors reduced immoderate of the enactment items implicit days of deliberations, residents are present looking astatine a 7.33 per cent mill complaint increase, down from the 8.5 per cent initially proposed.

The full operating fund is $650 million, with full taxation levies of $330.8 million.

Funding for the Provincial Capital Commission and Economic Development Regina remained unchanged from the archetypal fund proposal, but backing for the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) was reduced to $11.2 cardinal from $12.7 million.

The Regina Police Services volition get $122.5 million, down from an archetypal petition of $123.3 million. 

The fund was approved successful a 9-2 vote. Couns. Rashovich and Zachidniak voted against it.

Council has yet to ballot connected the 2025 superior budget, oregon the 2025 recreation and culture superior budget.

Council walks backmost explicit unit reductions

Several Regina metropolis councillors spoke retired connected Thursday aft assembly voted the erstwhile time to fire city unit to prevention money.

"This is not DOGE oregon Tesla, this is simply a nationalist work with existent radical and existent families," Coun. Froh said arsenic the ballot was reconsidered. "I anticipation yesterday is ne'er repeated."

On Wednesday afternoon, assembly voted successful favour of reducing metropolis staffing levels for a fund redeeming of $1.5 million, which would cut the projected mill complaint summation by 0.5 per cent. The jobs targeted were 34 outer consultants and "out of scope" management-level positions.

Froh recused himself from the vote, saying helium had a struggle of interest. Couns. Flores and Zachidniak, on with Mayor Bachynski, voted against the motion.

That ballot was reconsidered connected Thursday, aft Couns. Froh, Mancinelli, Turnbull and Zachidniak spoke retired against it.

"We caused sleepless nights for galore unit past night. We enactment folks successful a tailspin," Zachidniak said.

"What I'm saying is no, we don't trim our mill complaint arbitrarily."

Zachidniak motioned instead for the enactment to beryllium studied, truthful it could perchance beryllium implemented successful a aboriginal budget.

That question failed, but assembly amended the archetypal Wednesday motion, asking the metropolis manager to trim expenditures by astatine slightest $1.55 cardinal but not stipulating it beryllium done solely done reducing staffing levels.

Instead, the metropolis manager was directed to supply the enforcement committee with a program to recognize these savings astatine its gathering connected April 30.

The occurrence showcased a rift betwixt 2 groups of metropolis councillors connected however to nutrient savings connected the ample 8.5 per cent mill complaint summation projected by the city.

Couns. Bezo and Rashovich volunteered connected Thursday to instrumentality a 5 per cent wage chopped to assistance make savings. They said it showcased their committedness to making sacrifices to make savings for taxpayers.

"When I was playing football, we utilized to accidental hey, locomotion the talk," Rashovich said connected spending cuts and affordability, which helium noted galore different councillors campaigned on.

"You don't prevention your mode into the black," Froh said successful a antithetic exchange.

Much of metropolis council's fund debate focused connected scouring the operating and superior budgets for ways to trim the mill complaint increase. Without changes, the city's mill complaint would have increased by 8.5 per cent, the largest bump successful much than 10 years.

The metropolis manager, who produced the budget, said the summation is needed to support work levels and relationship for metropolis growth.

City assembly besides voted connected Wednesday to adhd 2 full-time employees to assistance code the city's 25-year backlog of audits. That effort would beryllium funded by a 0.07 per cent summation to the mill rate.

A question by Rashovich to trim backing for the city's equity diverseness and inclusion unit by $110,000 was defeated.

Council besides approved the last $108-million operating fund for the Regina Police Service.