REGINA — The City of Regina has listed potential budget cuts heading into a full week of discussions in December.
City administration has forecast a 15.69 per cent mill rate for 2026 to keep up with city services, operations, and help advance new projects.
This information was part of the city’s new budget process, aiming to create a better understanding and transparency with the public.
Part of this new budget process also included council having six special meetings analyzing different parts of operations, cost, etc.
During those deliberations, Mayor Chad Bachynski and council inquired about forecasted mill rates of 3.1 per cent, 6 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 9 per cent, as well as an 18 per cent reduction.
In a report, city administration has outlined roughly 130 budget reduction options for a total of $71.56 million in savings.
These include eliminating the budget for Light the Lights ($88,653) and decommissioning the Regina Floral Conservatory ($73,000). Other notable reductions/cuts on the table with the savings for taxpayers include:
- Eliminating the capital project for the Fire Station #8 – broke ground in November, cuts would result in 12 firefighters hired in 2023 and 2024 to be laid off: $1.93 million ($4.06/month);
- Closing a current fire hall station – would result in 40 full-time fire service employees being laid off: $6.42 million ($13.55/month);
- Cancel hiring 12 new full-time firefighters for Fire Station #8: $1.28 million ($2.71/month);
- Reduction in Renewable Regina 2050 targets: $100,000 (0.21/month);
- Reduce funding to the city’s portion of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited: $9 million ($18.99/month);
- Reduce funding to Economic Development Regina by 50 per cent: 1.05 million ($2.22/month);
- Reducing the city’s Indigenous Framework — including no longer facilitating relationships with Indigenous communities — cancelling tracking and measures of the city’s efforts towards reconciliation: $180,000 ($0.39/month);
- Cutting 73 full-time staff, reducing service calls, maintenance, installation of flowerpots, and pest control for city-owned parks: $5.58 million ($11.34/month);
- Eliminating the Community Investments Grant Program, which provides investment into development, culture, and sporting grants: $5.37 million ($11.33/month);
- Eliminating Permanent Supportive Housing Operating Grant: $1 million ($2.11/month);
- Removing all Heritage incentives and grants for maintaining historical properties: $250,000 ($0.53/month);
- Reducing the proposed increase to the community associations' phased increase funding to $147,000: $620,000 ($1.32/month);
- Closing the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre: $140,000 ($0.29/month);
- Closing Masey Pool: $240,000 ($0.51/month);
- Closing the Neil Balkwill Centre: $250,000 ($0.53/month);
- Lease, close, or sell Kinsmen Arena and Optimist Arena: $160,000 (0.34/month);
- Traffic and road safety – including pavement markings, crosswalks, traffic patrol, signs: $1.05 million ($2.21/month);
- Reducing Road and active transportation – including reductions in bridge repairs, pothole patching, and not completing 32 pedestrian ramps: $1.765 million ($3.83/month);
- Reducing Winter road maintenance – includes decreasing efforts for snow removal on busier roads, maintaining current sidewalk plow levels, and a 50 per cent reduction in clearing school zones, etc: $3.56 million ($7.28/month);
- Reducing Transit – including fleet reserve cuts, removing routes 15, 16 and 17 from the transit line, no bus service on stat holidays, etc: $12.150 million ($25.65/month).
The city will consider any cuts during budget week, which begins on Dec. 15.
