City of Regina wants 73% debt limit hike as it plans for large projects, water infrastructure upgrades
CBC
Regina city council has signed off on a plan to increase the city's debt limit, which would clear the way for the city to finance a series of megaprojects and upgrade the city's water infrastructure in the future.
Following Wednesday's council vote in favour of the increase, the city will apply to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board — the province's administrative tribunal that deals with issues from local authorities — to increase its debt limit by 73 per cent, from $450 million to $780 million.
"[This] is in part to provide council in the city … flexibility when opportunities present themselves to advance these critical projects," said Barry Lacey, the City of Regina's executive director of financial strategy.
By the end of 2024, the city will carry up to $437 million in debt, due in part to its decision to help finance the construction of the new indoor aquatics facility.
That brings it perilously close to the city's $450-million debt limit, which has been in place for the past 10 years.
The largest single item that needs to be paid off is the debt incurred from building Mosaic Stadium, which the city borrowed $200 million in 2014 to help build.
The city puts approximately $11.5 million per year toward paying off Mosaic Stadium debt. It is set to be fully paid off in 2045.
On Wednesday, city administration told council that approaching the debt limit could make it difficult to complete infrastructure projects or access grant funding from the provincial or federal governments if it becomes available.
A report presented to council on Wednesday says the City of Regina has not adequately funded its asset maintenance program in the past. That means many buildings are in need of significant investment, or are approaching the end of their lifespan and need to be replaced.
Meanwhile, the city's capital requirements exceed the amount of funding city council has approved, the report says.
The increase to the debt limit is meant to allow the city to keep up with maintenance if required, while still exploring large capital projects.
Those include the projects already endorsed by council that were recommended by the city's catalyst committee — formed to explore how "catalyst projects" meant to generate growth, development and private funding in the city could help shape the city's downtown core.
Those include a new downtown arena and a new central library, as well as other projects such as relocation of the rail tracks on Ring Road and increasing wastewater treatment plant capacity.
One project is set to receive an immediate boost if the debt limit increase is increased.
Ontario is running out of time to beef up rules that would crack down on negligent and misbehaving municipal politicians ahead of the next civic election, some experts and opposition critics warn.
Six London teens are each facing multiple charges following a break-and-enter spree at homes in the city's southwest end early Sunday, police said.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is putting the finishing touches on completing the Team Gushue Highway, but it means drivers might have to change their routes until later this summer.
Passage of the Nova Scotia government's budget bill stalled late Tuesday night when a group of singing protesters shut down the final vote to approve the budget.
Health Minister John Dornan said Woodstock-based eVisitNB will continue to provide virtual health-care services to New Brunswickers for another 90 days after March 31.
The head of Canada's largest airline has been summoned to Ottawa to explain why he spoke only in English when he offered his condolences to the families of those killed or hurt in the collision between a plane and a fire truck at a New York City airport on Sunday.
Manitoba is bucking a national trend by promising to slash its deficit, while boosting health care spending by nearly $1 billion and delivering modest affordability measures, including a PST cut that will save you money next time you buy a soda and bag of chips.
Premier Scott Moe has said there are no "cancellations or delays" to school projects as a result of the provincial budget introduced last week.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in a deadly daytime shooting on a highway south of Edmonton.
More than a month after the deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, stories of bravery during the tragedy are being shared.
Just over six months after the University of Prince Edward Island's medical program began, the dean of the faculty says things are “going wonderfully.”
One person has been found dead after a large fire gutted a home in Mississauga on Monday night, officials say.
The Northwest Territories government says it has found elevated levels of lead in drinking water at the Chief Jimmy Bruneau school in Behchokǫ̀.