After a provincial funding shortfall, the City of Regina was forced to reopen its 2017 budget. Council met Tuesday evening to decide on several proposed amendments.
The biggest change residents can expect is an approved 2.5 per cent mill rate increase. This will be combined with an orginially passed 3.99 per cent hike, for a total increase of 6.49 per cent.
A number of services will be cut, but councillors opted to save holiday busing, lawn bowling and a par three golf course. Those expenses are expected to be offset by a $10 parking ticket increase.
Mayor Michael Fougere blames the provincial government for the latest changes.
"The fact that we're even here having to redo our budget is a problem with everyone," says Fougere. "We set our budget out and now we're responding to a last minute cut by the province. But we stood our ground in terms of not using reserves, but rather a small mill rate increase and service cuts, reductions and changes that will get us to 2018."
The city lost $10.3 million in provincial funding this year and could lose an additional $16 million next year.
