REGINA — A 15.69 per cent mill rate increase has been forecasted for the City of Regina’s 2026 budget, according to administration.
Heading into 2026, the city is looking at a general operating shortfall of $51.78 million, requiring a mill rate hike.
Daren Anderson, City of Regina chief financial officer, said administration worked countless hours to present a fair, balanced and affordable budget.
The mill rate increase is made up of:
- Uncontrollable increased cost (7.45 per cent);
- Collective agreements increase (3.05 per cent);
- Regina Police Service budget (2.20 per cent);
- Water Network Expansion (1.73 per cent);
- Development charges funded projects (0.59 per cent);
- Indoor Aquatic Facility dedicated mill rate (0.50 per cent);
- Industrial development charges reduction reserve (0.09 per cent);
- Intensification infrastructure reserve (0.08 per cent);
- Service partner increases (0.02 per cent).
Acting city manager Jim Nicol explained this budget shows the commitment the city has to serving its community.
“[We provide over] 60 services to its residents. We take care of roads and alleys. We collect trash. We manage rainfall, floods and snowstorms. We ensure that you can flush your toilets and have safe drinking water. We offer enriching cultural programs, and we take care of thousands of square feet of grass. On which you and your family can relax, connect and play.”
While Anderson and Nicol said they understand a 15.69 per cent mill rate is steep, they both said the reality is they cannot find $58 million somewhere “under a rug."
Nicol was also bleak about services people could see impacted by council choosing to reduce the mill rate during budget deliberations.
“[We could] close a fire hall, stop transit, close neighbourhood community centres.”
“We don't do this lightly. We're not taking any joy. We're not making any professional recommendation to do that,” he added.
While presenting the budget, Nicol hoped residents could better understand what it takes to provide these services.
With a potential mill 15.69 per cent mill rate increase, here is the breakdown for the costs of homeownership:
- Low property value ($250,000): ($25.42/month or $305.04/year);
- Average property value ($324,000): ($33.04/month or $396.48/year);
- High property value ($500,000): ($50.95/month or $611.4/year).
The city is also considering a 7.82 per cent utility increase for 2026, which would cost the average homeowner an additional $14.05/month, and a 10.02 per cent utility increase for 2027, costing the average residential property $19.21/month.
The mill rate represents the amount of tax applied to each dollar of a property's assessed value, according to the city. Each mill is equal to the value of $0.001.
With property values recently changing, Anderson said there were significant changes to roughly one per cent of households in Regina.
If this mill rate passes, it would be a significant uptick from the approved 7.33 per cent mill rate increase in 2025.
Administration has previously said the city had been falling behind with upkeep.
“We've got a lot of aging infrastructure, and we haven't kept up. That bell is now being rung, and it's going to take some concerted effort and some dedicated focus to get us back on track,” said Nicol.
Anderson also explained that inflation is starting to creep into budgets, creating challenges for administration to forecast costs.
“The hard part is we're trying to predict snow levels and the price of gasoline and how much gas we're going to use.”
As council enters its second budget, Anderson feels the special budget meetings councillors had over six weeks in Sept. and Oct. have given them more time to absorb information.
Council will finalize the budget during the week of Dec. 15- 19.
