REGINA - City council has passed forward an amendment that further reduces the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL) funding for the 2025 budget.
Originally, REAL sought a 2.21 per cent mill rate increase in 2025, which added up to $12.7 million.
However, on Monday, REAL came back to city council with a new $11.5 million proposed budget, a $1.2 million decrease.
Those decreases came from $400,000 in operating costs and $800,000 in cash flow.
Even with these reductions, city council still looked to find savings for taxpayers.
Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons put forward an amendment, reducing REAL’s budget from an additional $300,000 of the $11.5 million for a total of approximately $11.2 million.
"The rationale for putting this additional [reduction] forward is the community has a huge concern about REAL and understanding that we do need to make an adjustment," she said.
Radons asked REAL interim CEO Roberta Engel on Monday l if they could afford a $800,000 reduction. She said this would mean REAL remains as "status quo."
Engel added REAL would continue to operate with significant vacancies and they would continue not generating new revenue.
Ward 9 Coun. Jason Mancinelli echoed what Radons had to say. While Mancinelli showed his continued support for REAL, he couldn’t ignore what he is hearing from his residents.
"My residents are feeling alot of stress right now, and they need a champion to buy in with them and burn through it."
Mancinelli proposed a friendly amendment, further reducing REAL’s budget to around $9.5 million, which would be a 1 per cent mill rate decrease.
After meeting off-camera with REAL, city council decided it be best to move forward with the original amendment from Radons.
Push-back
While most city councillors were in favour of further reductions of REAL, Ward 2 Coun. George Tsiklis was heavily opposed.
Tsiklis moved an amendment to remove the $300,000 reduction proposed by Radons.
"I think we’re beating up on the little guy here," he said. Tsiklis pointed out REAL and the Regina Police Service (RPS) have decreased their original proposed mill rates, yet city council is still asking "for more blood."
Tsiklis mentioned REAL is only telling councillors they can find the extra $300,000 as a way to appease them.
He also credited the REAL's board of directors, who isn’t getting paid for their service on it.
Despite his plea, city council voted 8-3 to reject Tsiklis' amendment.
Later, city council voted 9-2 in favour of the $300,000 reduction.
Even with this change, there can still be adjustments to REAL's budget as deliberations remain ongoing.
