11.04% mill rate hike on the table as Regina city council works through fourth day of budget talks

Regina City Council spent much of Thursday morning combing over the city’s operating and capital budgets as it continued its 2026-27 budget deliberations.

On Wednesday evening, the proposed mill rate increase for 2026 was sitting at 11.26 per cent, which would cost the average Regina homeowner around $285 more per year, which works out to $23.75 per month.

After several hours of discussion and many approved and failed amendments, council got the proposed figure down to 11.04 per cent by Thursday evening.

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What passed?

The first items approved were the creation of two new full-time employees — one is a permanent co-ordinator meant to oversee the city’s new homeless and encampment response strategy, and the other is a two-year term infrastructure architect for Mosaic Stadium. Both were motioned by Ward 3 Coun. David Froh.

The homeless and encampment co-ordinator is funded through the existing city funds meant for the dissolved Community and Social Impact operating budget, while the infrastructure architect position will be funded through the Mosaic Stadium Reserve Fund.

Council also approved Froh’s motion to increase the annual funding for organizations through the Community Investments Grant Program to keep up with inflation (as per the consumer price index). This is set to take effect in 2027.

Ward. 6 Coun. Victoria Flores successfully motioned to reallocate a one-time $50,000 from the city’s treasury budget to fund implementation of the 2SLGBTQIAP+ Action Plan.

Ward 2 Coun. George Tsiklis passed a 50 per cent reduction in nuisance property enforcement (down to $625,000).

Tsiklis also successfully amended the budget to increase city revenue from street use permits by $80,000.

On Thursday evening, council voted to increase parking violation fines by $10 per ticket in order to draw in $400,000 more in annual revenue, as well as to raise parking meter fees by $0.50 per hour to bring $175,000 yearly.

The City of Regina will have to draft the necessary bylaws to have both of these measures take effect, with a scheduled enforcement date of April 1, 2025. Both motions were brought to Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull.

What failed?

Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich introduced several motions throughout the day, but none passed.

Among the amendments he motioned for, he suggested:

• cutting $48,000 from the meeting, food and reception budget for council and committee meetings;
• eliminating funding from 250 horticultural flowerpot programs  on the city’s outskirts; and
• cutting the budget for employee rewards and gifts by 50 per cent.

Tsiklis’s two successful motions were initially part of one larger motion that was later split into 14 separate votes. Some of the failed measures originally attached to the motion include:

• cancelling all external city events(saving $150,000)
• cancelling all internal city events (saving $70,000)
• an additional $110,000 reduction from the city’s marketing agency of record which helps promote Regina
• charging community groups for special events

Background

Under a new budget process intended to improve transparency, city administration showed council and the public a step-by-step process on how it derives its budget forecasts.

Back in November, administration said it would require a 15.69 per cent mill rate increase in 2026 to run the city at desired service levels, partly due to years of deferrals and artificially low mill rates.

The increased rate is meant to make up for a deficit of more than $51 million.

Before official budget discussions began, administration provided council with a list of 131 areas to possibly seek out cost reductions, some of which drew significant public backlash.

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Chad Bachynski brought forward a lower proposed mill rate increase of 10.73 per cent, which he said served as a starting point for discussion.

Bachynski’s proposed budget contains measures like cancelling increased consulting services and eliminating city sandboxes.

Deliberations are scheduled to continue until Friday, though council could take more time if needed.