Council pushed, pulled on proposed 4.86% tax hike

Citizens and lobby groups demanded wildly different changes to the proposed 2018 city budget on Tuesday, as councillors prepared to vote on a proposal that would raise property taxes 4.86 per cent.

As of press time, councillors had yet to vote on the administration proposal, which would set overall expenses at $443 million.

They spent the first hour of budget night listening to a long list of delegations pushing them on everything from police spending to condo rebates. But several councillors have already vowed to make amendments to rejig the proposed mill rate hike.

Only one councillor, Jason Mancinelli, has proposed raising the rate. At least two, as well as Mayor Michael Fougere, have said they favour lowering it through finding further efficiencies — more than the $9 million city hall says it has already found. On Tuesday evening, business leaders urged council to do exactly that.

Jennifer Henshaw of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the city must leave “no stone unturned” in efforts to lower costs and eliminate red tape.

“We fear the proposed 4.86-percent property tax hike, the secondhighest in 10 years, will only add to the uncertainty business owners are already facing,” she said.

Regina Chamber of Commerce CEO John Hopkins said his members are squarely against the hike. Most business owners, he said, want a tax freeze.

But Coun. Andrew Stevens asked him how the city is supposed to manage that in the face of massive cuts to provincial transfers.

“What does a zero look like for your members and what would they like to get cut and dealt with?” Stevens asked.

Hopkins had answers: reduce staffing levels, rein in grants, defer certain capital projects.

But Stevens noted that civic spending — which will be virtually frozen this year — pays for things like parks and transit. “That’s what makes the city,” he said. “Is that the city you envision?”

The police budget also became a major point of contention, with two speakers urging council to reject a three-per-cent funding increase for the Regina Police Service.

“Why do they always get what they ask for?” asked Terri Sleeva of the Regina Citizens Public Transit Coalition. She suggested the three-per-cent police funding increase should instead be directed to transit and anti-homelessness initiatives.

Florence Stratton, a community activist who said she came representing herself, directed her criticism at the “militarization” of police.

She said the $350,000 police want to spend on a tactical rescue vehicle, which she called a “tank,” could be better used elsewhere.

Another proposal is likely to meet with much wider support. Norman Brown, president of Prescott Condominium Corporation, called on council to restore the condo waste rebate that was eliminated last year.

“The city collects taxes to provide services,” he said. “Among the services provided to most homeowners is garbage pickup and recycling. Despite paying their fair share of taxes, condominium owners do not receive those services.”

Mancinelli agreed with his argument, calling the decision last year a “knee-jerk reaction” that wasn’t fair to condo owners.

Debate was expected to continue long into the evening, with a vote likely by late Tuesday night. Councillors will be able to propose amendments to the administration proposal.