Regina residents could see another increase to the city’s general operating budget next year. In its preliminary 2027 budget, city administration forecasted a $44.7 million increase just to maintain and deliver current service levels. Regina city council is expected to discuss this forecast during a special meeting on Tuesday. It’s the first of five rounds of preliminary budget talks ahead of official budget deliberations in December. The city stresses that these figures are merely forecasts and don’t represent any official decisions or approvals. The meeting will be dedicated to helping council and the public understand the key cost drivers contributing to forecasted 2027 expenses. To keep in line with council’s strategic imperative, city administration said the 2027 operating mill rate increase must be capped at 5.81 per cent. The imperative requires Regina’s municipal property taxes to be within the lowest 25 per cent of taxes among comparator Canadian cities. Administration forecasted a 7.01 per cent mill rate increase in its 2027 general operating budget, with staff costs (2.3 per cent), Regina Police Service (1.97 per cent), capital funding (1.38 per cent), debt servicing (1.79 per cent) and the reinstatement of the transit fleet reserve being the largest items. To shave the increase down to 5.81, administration suggested cutting the transfer to the transit fleet reserve and several service reductions. Some of the suggested service cuts include right-sizing facilities expenses, cutting the frequency of line painting on roads, and cuts to dust suppression. Regina’s general revenues are also expected to grow by $17.7 million, which includes an $8.4 million increase in property tax revenue. Administration explained that this bump in tax revenue comes from changes in the city’s assessment roll and not from an increase in the mill rate. Once again, Regina is hosting the preliminary budget discussions in order to provide more clarity and transparency on the budget process – aimed at helping councillors and the public understand how administrations drafts its budget estimates. These preliminary forecasts exclude new services, service enhancements, strategic investments and partner requests. After Tuesday, two more special meetings centred on the general operating budget are set for Aug. 5 and Sept. 8, followed by meetings about the general capital budget on Sept. 22 and the utility operating and capital budget on Oct. 6. Regina city council approved a 10.9 per cent mill rate increase during last year’s budget deliberations, which followed a 7.33 per cent increase in 2025.
