Regina council approves 3.9% tax increase

Regina taxpayers will be forking out more in 2015 after council approved the city budget on Monday.

City officials had proposed increases in property taxes and fees for city services such as water.

The budget debate ran for five hours as council members first listened to presentations from citizens and then debated the merits of the proposed budget measures.

Early on in the evening, council members approved the police department's request for eight additional officers for patrol duties.

Council also agreed with new fees for utilities, such as water and sewer service. Those will go up by eight per cent. For a typical homeowner, that means an additional $126 per year.

Officials had presented council with a budget that called for a 4.3 per cent tax hike. Council settled on an increase of 3.9 per cent.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said he's happy with the result, saying it meets the needs of Regina residents.

"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," he said.

One percentage point of that overall increase is being targeted to fixing residential streets. It's the second year in a row the city has added a special tax for that purpose.