Regina Minute: Issue 77

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

📅 This Week In Regina: 📅

• On Tuesday, at 8:00 am, there will be a Special Meeting of City Council to address the budget for Community Building Services. Key operating expenses in this category include Sustainable Infrastructure at $5.3 million in 2026 and $5.9 million in 2027, Planning & Development at $22.8 million and $23.0 million, Indigenous Relations at $2.0 million each year (down from $26.6 million in 2025 due to one-time Housing Affordability Fund costs), Real Estate, Land & Economic Development at $17.1 million in both years (down from $17.8 million in 2025), and Tourism at $2.0 million in both years (up from $1.8 million in 2025). Staffing across these services will total around 197 full-time positions in 2026. Any new programs, strategic projects, or deferred spending are not included and will be reviewed during December’s budget meetings. Residents can register to speak at the meeting before 12:00 pm today to share their input.
  
  
• The Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:00 am. The agenda includes an update on the City’s Lead Service Connection Management Program (LSCMP). The program is aimed at replacing lead service connections (LSCs) - the pipes that carry water from the City main to a property - with a target completion year of 2036. The program began in 2017 with free water testing and filters for residents and expanded in 2021 to include mandatory private-side replacements with deferred payment options. From roughly 3,600 City-owned LSCs, fewer than 2,400 remain, and 487 were replaced in 2023-2024 at a cost of about $5.1 million. Proposed adjustments include removing the low-income threshold for repayment plans, eliminating a $240 administration fee, increasing annual filter reimbursements to $200, and offering a one-time $350 reimbursement for under-sink filter installations. Between 2023 and 2024, 1,543 water filters were provided. The program is funded through the General Utility Reserve.
  
  
• Also on the agenda is a Winter Road Maintenance Update. The City’s Winter Road Maintenance Update for 2024 - 2025 reports an above-average winter with higher snowfall, more severe weather events, and frequent freeze-thaw cycles, which created hazardous icy conditions and increased demand for plowing, snow removal, and ice control. City crews worked 131,000 hours, cleared 3,657 kilometres of roads and 1,250 kilometres of sidewalks, and used 23,116 tonnes of sand and salt, while over 52,000 trucks hauled 820,000 cubic metres of snow. The operating budget was $10.8 million but actual costs reached $13.4 million, with 2025 expenditures projected at $14.1 million. The City received 6,272 service requests, resolving 62% within two business days, and received 156 positive feedback messages. Key initiatives improved sidewalk and driveway clearing, reduced ridges, and enhanced technology tracking, though high snowfall affected some programs. Planned improvements include a second snow storage site ($10.2 million, starting 2027) and a new real-time tracking platform for 2025 - 2026.
  
  
• Council has approved a rezoning application for a new 48-unit affordable housing project downtown, marking the first new building proposal in the area in a decade. The development, led by the Indigenous non-profit Namerind, will consist of four three-storey “stacked townhouse” buildings at 1840 Lorne St. The rezoning was necessary because downtown rules typically require commercial space at street level, which this project does not include. City staff supported the project, noting it would help increase downtown population, a key goal for revitalization. Some opposition cited concerns about medium-density design and the lack of retail opportunities. The project is scaled down from an earlier 2014 proposal that included a 15-storey building with 170 units, a daycare, grocery store, and office space. Mayor Chad Bachynski emphasized the urgent need for affordable housing, noting that rejecting the project would not automatically create alternatives. Construction could begin as early as this fall or spring.

• Council is exploring new funding options to support the City’s lagging net-zero emissions targets without raising taxes. Ward 8 Councillor Shanon Zachidniak proposed a motion for Administration to produce reports in 2026 on potential revenue sources, including updating stormwater runoff charges, offering tax incentives for building retrofits, and adjusting parking fines to fund transit electrification. The City’s Energy and Sustainability Framework, adopted in 2022, aims for net-zero emissions by 2050, but a recent report showed the City is falling behind due to underinvestment. Council approved reports on carbon tax implications and stormwater fee adjustments but rejected proposals for additional tax incentives and parking fine revenue. Administration has warned that the pause in the federal carbon tax has not yet generated measurable savings. Councillors also discussed establishing a Community Advisory Committee for the framework, addressing a commitment that had been unfulfilled since 2022. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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