REGINA, Sask. — Regina city council voted to provide full property-tax exemptions to recommended community nonprofits for 2027 and cap homeowners’ contributions toward replacing lead water service connections on private property at $5,000 during its Oct. 14 meeting.
The lengthy meeting was dominated by debate over Bell’s proposed AI data-centre expansion outside Regina. Council voted 5-4 to seek more information about the project’s potential impacts and the city’s role, but the motion did not approve or reject the development.
Nonprofits win full tax exemptions
Council voted 8-2 to grant 100 per cent property-tax exemptions to all recommended community nonprofit organizations for 2027, overriding administration’s recommendation for a reduced exemption rate of 85.385 per cent.
City finance officials said the change would cost an additional $82,488 compared with the recommended option. That represents about 0.012 per cent of Regina’s $676-million operating budget.
Kimberly Winger, executive director of the North Central Family Centre, urged councillors to approve the full exemption, saying the proposed reduction would force organizations to divert money from community programs to cover operating expenses.
Winger said her organization’s exemption had dropped from 100 per cent two years ago to 95.07 per cent last year, with a further reduction proposed for 2027.
For the centre’s building at 2931 Fifth Avenue, she estimated the difference between a full exemption and the proposed rate would be about $2,300.
“That would equate to 500 suppers for children and youth,” Winger told council.
She said the centre has no core funding and must raise money for everyday expenses, including property taxes, insurance and building maintenance.
“The hardest dollar to raise is our general operating dollars for costs like property tax, insurance and building maintenance,” Winger said.
She warned that organizations receiving one-year agreements would face the reduced exemptions while some groups with multi-year agreements remained fully exempt.
Winger cited figures in the city report showing participating organizations provided more than 191,000 food hampers, 37,000 emergency shelter nights and over 163,000 meals in 2025.
Councillor Victoria Flores moved to approve the full exemptions, arguing that financial pressure on community organizations has not kept pace with their needs.
“The funding has never kept up with inflation and oftentimes continues to be decreased,” Flores said.
Drawing on her experience in the nonprofit sector, Flores said the city should consider how much support organizations provide and what could happen if those services are reduced.
Councillor Jason Mancinelli seconded the motion, acknowledging the need for responsible budgeting but arguing that cuts to community support could lead to greater costs elsewhere.
He described reducing that support as potentially being “penny smart and dollar stupid.”
Councillors Mark Burton and Dan Rashovich voted against the change. Administration said the tax-exemption policy is scheduled for review in 2028, including how its funding cap is calculated.
Lead-pipe replacement costs capped at $5,000
Council also unanimously approved changes to Regina’s Lead Service Connection Management Program, capping homeowners’ contributions toward eligible private-side lead-pipe replacement costs at $5,000. The city will cover eligible costs above that amount.
The city will also pursue additional investigations to confirm where lead connections exist and improve coordination of replacement work. The overall target for eliminating lead service connections remains 2036, despite residents urging council to accelerate the timeline to 2030.
Florence Stratton, a Regina resident and member of the citizens’ group Get the Lead Out, called for faster replacement of city-owned lead pipes and stronger measures to ensure landlords address connections on private property.
“The City of Regina has known since 2016 that there’s lead in Regina drinking water,” Stratton said.
She urged council to require notices informing tenants when a property has a lead service connection. She also called for landlords to replace private-side lead pipes and provide filtration or bottled water until the work is complete.
Stratton argued that safe drinking water should be treated as a basic right.
“Access to safe and clean drinking water is a human right recognized by the United Nations in 2010,” she said.
“I do not want to live in a city that knowingly compromises the health of its people, including the health of its children.”
Trish Elliott, speaking in support of the $5,000 cap and reading comments from Regina resident Casey Peart, also urged council to approach lead pipes as a public-health concern rather than solely an infrastructure problem.
“We need to really start pushing at every level, city, province, federal government, to consider this a health issue,” Elliott said.
She called for the city to work with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and other levels of government to find funding for faster replacements. She also suggested affected rental properties should have water advisories so tenants know about potential risks.
Elliott said residents who rent should not be left exposed to possible risks because they cannot decide whether a property owner will replace the pipes. She also told council that a petition calling for faster lead-pipe removal had collected about 500 signatures at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival.
Beverly McDougald, a Regina resident from the Heritage neighbourhood, called for prospective tenants to be informed about lead service connections before paying a deposit or rent.
“I don’t think it’s fair that these people move into a place and they give their down payment of some kind plus their rent and then find out at some point that they shouldn’t have been drinking the water at all,” McDougald said.
She urged the city to make information about affected properties more accessible so renters can make informed decisions before moving in.
Funding and construction priorities debated
During discussion, councillors considered whether lead-pipe replacement work could be coordinated with road-renewal projects to reduce construction costs and avoid digging up newly paved streets.
Administration said faster replacement would require more investigation, planning and construction capacity. Confirming the locations of lead connections would help the city develop a longer-term plan and coordinate work with other infrastructure projects.
Deputy Mayor David Froh called for a clearer process to help council weigh competing capital priorities. He said he wanted to work with administration to identify possible changes to the capital plan rather than relying only on increases to utility rates.
Councillors also discussed whether landlords should face stronger requirements to replace lead pipes. Flores supported requiring landlords to address the connections, noting that tenants have little control over the condition of the infrastructure supplying their drinking water.
The approved changes maintain the existing interest-free financing option of up to $10,000 for eligible private-side replacements. Administration will bring the utility-rate impacts forward during the 2027 budget process and prepare the bylaw amendments needed to implement the new contribution cap.
The decision does not move the city’s overall completion target to 2030. Regina’s published program information says 95 per cent of its city-owned water service connections are lead-free. Its 2025 progress figures record 272 lead service connection replacements and 50 confirmations that no lead connection was present following exploratory investigations.
After the lead-pipe decision, council adjourned. An internal audit work-plan item that had been pulled for discussion was deferred to the next scheduled council meeting on Oct. 28.
