Regina Exhibition Associated Limited (REAL) requests a larger budget for the city’s 2024 edition.

REAL’s request comes in at $6.44 million, an increase of $5.3 million over the $1.1 million budget provided in the last three years.

The budget is divided into three areas: $2.7 million for operations, $2.6 million for debt payments, and $1 million for capital.

City Manager and Board Chair of REAL’s Board of Directors Niki Anderson said this year’s budget for REAL is more realistic than previous.

“This is a realistic budget. The last two years, REAL has had to come back to council and ask for more money. We don’t want that,” she said. “This is the amount of money required, I would say, with 90 per cent certainly to do what needs to get done.”

The change will also have an impact on the city’s 2024 budget.

The original proposal in front of the council was an increase of 2.2 per cent to the mill rate. That would result in the average home (assessed at $315,000) seeing their property tax increase by $4.30 per month, or $51.61 for the year.

If approved, the modified request for REAL would see the mill rate increase to 2.82 per cent. That would increase the average home’s property tax by $5.51 per month or $66.12 over the year.