Regina Property Tax Hike

City council formally approved a Regina property tax hike, which will contribute towards funding a number of initiatives for the city, schools, and the library service.

The city portion of the overall tax is up 3.9 per cent year over year, which, according to council, totals $2,942 for a single-family home valued at $300,000.

CBC News reported that initial discussion on the budget took place at the end of 2014 and ran for five hours, as the council debated introducing a Regina property tax hike of 4.3 per cent before settling on 3.9 per cent. The long meeting time suggests that the costs and benefits of the proposed budget measures were debated at length.

The tax was officially brought in at the end of April. Additionally, city council introduced an eight per cent rise for water and sewage service, which for a typical householder, amounts to $126 per year.

Residential streets will benefit for the second year in a row from one per cent of the overall Regina property tax hike earmarked for the purpose of maintenance and upkeep. Library taxes are up 2.7 per cent, while school taxes will remain the same for
2015.

"We have focused on roads, on infrastructure. We're focusing on safe communities. We're investing in buses and transportation. So, this is an excellent budget," said Regina Mayor Michael Fougere, as reported by CBC News.

This property tax hike is following shortly after another increase which was approved in early 2014, where City Council voted to increase taxes by 5.88 per cent. At the time, Mayor Fougere said the tax money was necessary to meet the demands of a growing city and to catch up on long-overdue infrastructure demands, according to CBC News. The 5.88 per cent increase applied to the city portion of taxes only, excluding library or education taxes. Also included was a 1 per cent tax for street building, which has been carried over to this year.

The property tax deadline is June 30 without penalty.

Photos by: Regina Library, City of Regina, Study in Canada