Regina Minute: Overtime Hours, Dewdney Avenue, and Paying Back CRA

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

This Week In Regina:

• The Board of Police Commissioners will meet on Tuesday at 9:00 am. No agenda is available for this meeting yet. The Regina Planning Commission will meet on Tuesday at 4:00 pm. The Commission will discuss a few zoning amendments, and direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary amendments to land use bylaws in order to allow for increased density. The amended bylaws will be discussed at a mid-June meeting. The Commission will also discuss simplifying and streamlining the Private Swimming Pool Bylaw.
  
  
• The Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:00 am. The Committee will review the 2023 annual reports for the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, the Warehouse Business Improvement District, and the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation. Also on the agenda is a discussion about a permanent shelter. In January 2023, Regina Treaty Status Indian Services began operating a temporary emergency shelter called “New Beginnings” at the Nest Health Centre to support individuals experiencing homelessness. With the lease expiring in summer 2025, a permanent space is needed. A suitable property has been found, but $1.5 million in funding is needed for purchase and renovation. The Committee will make a recommendation and forward to Council for discussion on June 12th.
  
  
• The Regina Yard Waste Depot is now only open on weekends. Formerly, it was open 12 hours a day, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, every day of the week. However, since the green cart rollout, it is now open on Saturdays and Sundays only, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, due to decline in demand. The Depot has seen a 36% decline since 2020 - the decline started even before the green cart rollout. Those with yard waste can now either wait until the weekend or pay a $10 fee to drop it off at the landfill.

Last Week In Regina:

• To repay money owed to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Council has decided to transfer $8 million from the Fleet Reserve to the General Reserve Fund. The money is owed to the CRA for wage subsidies received by two City-owned groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL) and Economic Development Regina (EDR) received the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy but were later found ineligible after a CRA audit. City administration initially recommended using the General Reserve Fund to repay the CRA, but this idea was rejected because the fund was already below its minimum level. Instead, the City’s Audit and Finance Committee found that the Fleet Reserve had excess funds. Both REAL and EDR are asking the CRA for interest forgiveness to save money.
  
  
• Councillors Andrew Stevens and Dan LeBlanc proposed changing the name of Dewdney Avenue on account of namesake Edgar Dewdney's policies towards Indigenous Peoples. The move could cost anywhere up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Mayor Sandra Masters, and those costs need to be explored and discussed. The Mayor acknowledged the controversy and emphasized the need for community consultation. There are 2,500 businesses and residences along Dewdney Avenue that would be affected, and the name change would require residents to update addresses on utility bills and credit statements.
  
  
• A report revealed that the City has been paying up to $5.5 million more per year in overtime than budgeted since 2018, amounting to $26.9 million between 2018 to 2023. Emergency calls and staff shortages were major contributors. The departments of Water, Waste and Environment, Transit and Fleet Services, and Roadways account for 72% of the overtime. A project manager is now reviewing overtime practices to find efficiencies, which could include hiring more full-time staff to reduce the reliance on overtime.