‘No perfect cuts’: Some councilors unhappy with where city administration found service cuts post-budget

WATCH: Some Regina city councillors are not happy with where administration found cost savings. Donovan Maess has the details from council.

Some Regina city councillors voiced their disappointment to a report from administration outlining where cost savings were found after March’s budget deliberations.

In an attempt to cut the city’s mill rate increase at budget talks in March, council tasked administration to $1.55 million in cost efficiencies to save residents money on their tax bills.

Administration brought back their recommendations to Executive Committee Wednesday.

“Administration has identified eight items where the savings will be found,” Chief Financial Officer Daren Anderson told committee. “We can discuss what is in that bucket. But we can’t change that bucket once the mill has been set.”

In March, City Manager Niki Anderson – who is currently on leave – warned councillors the city had already cut operating costs to the bone - and any further cuts would be to services.

“Anything less than that is cutting services, and we’re at 1.9,” she said on March 19. “[Administration] would have to go back to council saying, ‘here’s some scenarios on the service cuts.”

In 2025, the city projects it will save $600,000 by not having to pay the consumer carbon tax on heating and electricity.

An additional $280,000 in efficiencies were identified in internal service reductions. The remaining $670,000 in savings were in cuts to public services – like mosquito control or dust suppression.

Of the public service cuts, administration also proposed the cancellation of the popular ‘Light the Lights’ night at city hall – saving $35,000.

“There are no job reductions as a result of these cuts,” city manager of corporate operations Ted Schisler said. “Any anything that needed adjusting would be adjusting within the work area.”

But some councillors weren’t happy with where administration found cuts.

“There’s some other places here where we can make some reductions still,” Ward 1 coun. Dan Rashovich said. “In other areas it won’t affect some of these things.”

“These cuts had to occur in this year in order to balance the budget, and they had to impact the mill rate,” Anderson said. “We focused on areas where we believe that it was certain.”

Rashovich pointed back to some ideas he had in March during deliberations to cut costs that were defeated by votes.

“[Council] is sitting on the outside here and we totally can’t see inside of where to find reductions,” he said. “I still feel that way.”

Other councillors reminded their colleagues their decisions at budget have consequences for residents who rely on critical services across the city.

“I do not know that we’re ever going to be happy with this,” Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores said. “It always means cutting services. I think that is a lesson learned to not have a process where [we] say, ‘find money from whatever.’”

Mayor Chad Bachynski feels his relatively inexperienced council was just handed a very heavy lesson early in their term.

“We’re learning a lot in a short amount of time, which is good and we need that,” he told reporters Wednesday. “This experience is definitely going to help everybody understand what they’re looking at. And understand the implications of every decision that we make a lot better moving forward.”

Ward 3 Coun. David Froh says he will be bringing forward a reconsideration motion, ‘to allow administration and council to look at what has been recommended to be reduced and the amounts to be reduced.’”

“It’s clear there are no perfect cuts,” Froh added.

That reconsideration motion is expected to be on the floor of council May 14 for further discussion.