Regina Minute: Issue 113

Regina Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Regina politics

📅 This Week In Regina: 📅

• Regina's road and concrete renewal report is on the agenda for the Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 am. The report confirms that current funding levels are structurally insufficient to keep the city's road network from deteriorating. Local roads currently sit at 76.9% in fair or better condition, below the City's own 85% target, and without increased investment that figure is projected to drop to just 49% over the next 25 years. Annual investment in major roads would need to rise from $5.6 million to $25.6 million - more than four times current spending - to close the gap within 25 years. The report also flags a separate funding shortfall for concrete assets such as curbs, gutters, and sidewalks.
  
  
• Also on the Executive Committee agenda is a report analyzing whether a 20% reduction in poured concrete for transportation assets is achievable, following a 2025 Council directive. Two options were studied: switching to alternative materials such as asphalt (which carries higher long-term maintenance costs and a shorter service life) and removing certain concrete infrastructure including sidewalks and medians (which reduces both safety and accessibility). Neither option generates enough savings to fund city-wide sidewalk snow clearing, which was the stated goal of the original Council motion. Administration is recommending the report be received and filed without further action.
  
  
• The Executive Committee will also receive a report presenting the results of the four-month fare-free transit pilot at F.W. Johnson Collegiate, which ran from September to December 2025. Ridership during the pilot was three times higher than after it ended, at a total pilot cost of $49,000. Council had asked Administration to evaluate expanding the program city-wide to all high school students, but the numbers are substantial. Such an expansion would require $16.8 million in one-time capital spending to purchase 12 new buses, plus $2.26 million in ongoing operating costs and $2.06 million in lost annual fare revenue - a combined annual operating impact of $4.32 million. Administration does not recommend proceeding with a city-wide expansion.
  
  
• An internal audit of the City's fuel inventory is on the agenda for the Audit and Finance Committee on Thursday at 4:00 pm. Covering the 2023-2024 period, the audit found "substantial improvements" necessary across all aspects of fuel management. Over those two years, the City purchased approximately $21.5 million in fuel from Suncor Energy Products. Auditors identified no systematic inventory reconciliations, no exception-based monitoring, inadequate security camera coverage at fuel stations, non-functional fuel-station card readers, and limited staff awareness of fuel management procedures - all of which raise the risk of misappropriation and unauthorized use. 
  
  
• City Council has approved changes to its code of ethics following a benchmarking review of practices in 20 municipalities. Key changes include expanded authority for the Integrity Commissioner to investigate conflict of interest complaints, new confidentiality protocols, mandatory ethics training for Councillors, gift disclosure rules, and guidelines governing how council members may interact with City employees. A formal bylaw will be drafted and brought back for a final vote at a subsequent Council meeting.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Join us for Pints & Politics with our friends at the Saskatchewan Institute!

Where: Birmingham's Vodka and Ale House (2635 Star Lite St, Regina)

When: Friday, June 12th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Cost: Free (food and drinks not included)

RSVP: Required

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!