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The COVID-19 pandemic has been playing havoc with people’s bank accounts all over the world for the past six months and the City of Regina is not immune.
According to the mid-year financial report, to be presented to the finance and administration committee Wednesday morning, the city is expecting a $5.1-million deficit by the end of the year.
“The forecasted deficit is primarily due to the negative financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which have been partially offset by actions taken by Administration to reduce the financial impact of COVID-19 on City finances,” read the report.
The deficit is a result of, among other things, the decrease in transit and recreational fees and a drop in investment income thanks to low interest rates.
But in April, the city foresaw this problem and city council authorized a plan to make up to $7.2 million available to offset the impacts of the pandemic. The plan involved things like vacancy management and a deferral of capital programs and projects.
“These measures are forecast to be sufficient to address the negative financial impact of COVID-19 on the city’s General Fund Operating in 2020,” read the report.
The mid-year financials also predict the Utility Fund to have a $6-million surplus because of water usage that’s higher than the five-year average, vacancy management, and reduced operating costs.
The report does warn that the actual numbers at the end of the year tend to be different than what shows up in the mid-year financials due to several variables that can come to bear at the end of the year.
Property taxes are due at the end of September and the amount collected is among the variables. Other factors to consider will be whether more action is needed on COVID-19 or any major weather events.
Mosaic Stadium and Evraz Place are two big question marks in the city’s future.
No facility fees will be collected from Saskatchewan Roughriders games with the CFL season cancelled. Without major events, the report stated that it’s reasonable to anticipate the stadium going into the red this year.
The report said the financial impact of the pandemic is estimated to be between $4 million and $5 million this year, and that could throw a wrench into the plan to have the stadium paid off in 30 years.
The report also discusses how the pandemic has affected cash flow at Evraz Place, which is operated by Regina Exhibition Association Limited.
With the cancellations of big events like the farm show, the exhibition and CFL season, the report said the cash flow situation for REAL has been pushed to a “critical point,” adding that the financial performance of REAL represents a real risk to the city.
On the side of possible positives to the city’s books, the mid-year report doesn’t factor in money coming to the city from the province’s Municipal Economic Enhancement Program as it was approved after the report was finished. The numbers also don’t include any money that could come to the city from the federal safe restart program, which is still being negotiated.
