Regina Minute: Issue 128

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

📅 This Week In Regina: 📅

• There will be a special City Council meeting tomorrow at 1:00 pm, the third and final session reviewing the City's 2027 preliminary operating forecast before budget deliberations in December. Administration is presenting a list of potential service enhancements that would add $9.02 million in spending, offset by $215,000 in new revenue, for a net cost of $8.81 million and an estimated 2.34% mill rate increase if Council added all of them. The proposed enhancements focus on accessibility, transit, and technology, and include new staff across several departments. To keep Regina's property taxes within the lowest quartile of comparator Canadian cities, a target Council has set, Administration says the 2027 mill rate increase would have to be capped at 5.81%, meaning any enhancement Council adds would require an offsetting service cut. The report is being received for information only, with all financial decisions to be made during the December budget meetings. City Council meets again on Wednesday at 1:00 pm.
  
  
• Among the items on that Wednesday agenda, the second of two Council meetings this week, is a plan to transfer a vacant North Central lot and a $300,000 grant to a local youth organization. Under the proposal, the City would buy the lot at 1202 Retallack Street from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation for $1 and sell it to Growing Young Movers Youth Development Inc. for $1, so the charity can build a permanent headquarters for its Building Futures Collective social enterprise. Council would also approve a one-time $300,000 grant, drawn from the City's federal Housing Accelerator Fund, and a five-year property tax exemption on the property. Administration estimates the exemption would forgo about $12,000 in annual municipal taxes once the facility is built, up from $1,115.60 on the vacant lot today. Growing Young Movers already maintains City-owned lots in the North Central neighbourhood under an existing agreement. The recommendations were forwarded to Council by the Executive Committee.
  
  
• Council will also receive the City's 2025 Annual Debt Report on Wednesday, which shows Regina's total debt stood at $427.37 million at the end of 2025, rising to $538.3 million when related entities such as the water treatment corporation and the exhibition association are included. Both figures sit within the City's $890 million debt limit, which the Saskatchewan Municipal Board raised in June 2025. Council is also asked to direct Mayor Chad Bachynski to write to the Municipal Board requesting that it offset the City's sinking fund balances against its debt when setting the limit, and explain how it evaluates the City's ability to service that debt. Administration notes the City's capital needs are expected to exceed available funding for the foreseeable future.
  
  
• On that infrastructure front, the City of Regina says it has completed its Water Network Expansion Project about three months ahead of schedule and $17.5 million under budget. The $170 million project, which the City calls its largest water infrastructure investment in recent years, began in 2023 and included a new pumping station on Redbear Avenue, two water storage reservoirs, and an 8.4-kilometer supply main. Deputy City Manager of City Operations Kurtis Doney said the work strengthens a critical piece of infrastructure and adds capacity to serve a growing population of up to 500,000 people. Mayor Chad Bachynski said the project handles a significant part of the essential water service residents rely on, while acknowledging the City is still catching up on wastewater infrastructure. The pumping station became fully operational last December, with final landscaping completed this month.
  
  
• A group opposed to fluoridating Regina's drinking water is preparing a legal challenge as the City moves toward adding fluoride by mid-to-late 2027. Malia Carson, vice-chair of Regina Safe Water Advocates, said the group is documenting what it calls a lack of due diligence by local officials and coordinating with national organizations, including Fluoride Free Canada, in case it takes the matter to court. Carson argues the hydrofluorosilicic acid the City plans to use could increase lead leaching into drinking water, and she pointed to research associating prenatal fluoride exposure with lower childhood IQ scores, though she acknowledged the cited studies show association rather than a causal link. City Council originally approved fluoridation in 2021, and a 2025 motion by Ward 10 Councillor Clark Bezo to reconsider that decision was defeated after lengthy debate. The City maintains the water will be safe and says it will follow Health Canada guidelines and continue monitoring. The advocates have also asked the Ministry of Environment to assess the impact of fluoride discharged through wastewater into the Qu'Appelle River.

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