‘Let’s activate our downtown’: Library funding dominates opening day of Regina budget debate | CBC News
Budget deliberations are continuing. Check back for updates.
A large delegation from the Regina Public Library dominated the city’s budget debate session on Monday, requesting a large mill rate increase to fund its operations and its downtown renewal project.
Regina city council will debate the 2025 budget over the next five days, culminating with a final vote on Friday.
The City of Regina proposed the new budget on March 4. The city’s operating budget is projected to grow by 11 per cent to $841 million. That increase is planned to be funded primarily by a large mill rate hike.
The mill rate is proposed to increase by 8.5 per cent, while the utility mill rate is proposed to increase by 5.8 per cent. According to the Saskatchewan Cities Act, cities cannot operate unbalanced budgets.
Monday’s session was focused primarily on the library funding. The Regina Public Library, which is funded by a separate mill rate, is requesting an increase of 5.5 per cent to fund the Central Library renewal project, and an additional 4.58 per cent for its regular operations budget. According to the library, the renewal project increase would correspond with an increase of 96 cents per month for the average homeowner, while the operations budget increase would mean an additional monthly increase of 80 cents.
“A central library is the heart of a city, its intellectual and cultural life. It’s a living, breathing institution that grows and evolves with the community. In Regina, that growth has for many years been curtailed by our current building,” said Marj Gavigan, chair of the library’s board. “Let’s activate our downtown.”
The project to renew the downtown library, either through a renovation of the current building on 12th Avenue or a new building at a different location, has been debated for several years.
In July 2024, the previous city council approved up to between $92 million and $119 million in debt funding for the project.
The library confirmed that it had just over $20 million in a backup fund, an amount that Coun. George Tsiklis noted was higher than the combined rainy day funds of the police, parks commission and REAL district.
“Why are you asking for pennies when you have tens of millions at your disposal?” Tsiklis asked.
In response, the library’s CEO, Jeff Barber, noted that that money isn’t a regular rainy day fund; it exists solely to fund the renewal project.
Not granting the 5.5-per-cent increase for the library renewal project could delay it for another year, Gavigan said. The library says it will submit proposals to developers for the project in December.
“If we don’t have that commitment of funding, what developer will respond to that RFP [request for proposal] if they don’t think the funding is there to pay for it?” Garvigan said.
Debate over whether to build a new building or renovate the existing building continued on Monday, with Garvigan stating the board doesn’t know whether the former would be cheaper.
