REGINA - The Regina Public Library (RPL) is requesting two separate mill rate increases. One will help cover the costs of the Central Library Renewal Project (CLRP), and the other is for the 2025 operational costs.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, Marj Gavigan, board chair of the RPL, said the library is seeking a mill rate increase of 4.58 per cent for its 2025 operational costs.
The increase would be just under $10 per year for a homeowner. Curtis Smith, executive director with the RPL, said increasing the mill rate again by 2 per cent "just doesn’t do it [in terms of funding costs]." He added, "3 per cent [will] barely let you keep the lights on. We've had inflation [in] the last few years. So I think what we're asking for is really, [you know], what we need. And yeah, I think it's as simple as that."
Additionally, RPL wants the new city council to approve a 5.5 per cent dedicated mill rate increase over five years to assist costs of the new central library. With this increase, homeowners would pay over $11 more each year.
Between the two mill rate increases, a homeowner would pay just above $20 more for this year.
According to documents , the group has not increased their operational cost mil rate annually past 2.90 per cent since at least 2016. Additionally, the average mill rate increase by the RPL has been on average 2.25 per cent over the past decade.
If Regina city council were to approve both mill rate increases, the RLP estimates the roughly 10 per cent mill rate increase will generate $2.85 million.
Part of that money coming from the 5.5 per cent dedicated mill rate will ensure the RPL can pay off the design and eventual construction of the new RPL central branch.
Right now, the RPL also has "approximately $20 million [in a savings account]" that would help pay off the costs of the new central branch, said Smith.
However, that money and the mill rate increase won’t be enough to cover all the costs, which is also why the RPL wants Regina city council to approve the atleast $92 million to upwards of $119 million in debt financing that city council approved originally back in July. Despite a few city councillors putting in a motion to reconsider the approval back in Oct., the motion didn't pass.
The hope for the RPL is to have access to the debt funding between 2026-2029 to cover the cost of the central branch while the 5.5 per cent mill rate recovers additional funding to pay off the debt.
With all that in mind, there are a number of reasons why the RPL wants city council to approve their requests at Wednesday’s executive committee meeting.
Firstly, the general upkeep of the current central library costs nearly $500,000 annually, according to Gavigan.
With a need to constantly upgrade the building because of the outdated infrastructure, Gavigan noted, "there are few technicians left in the city to fix the issues. She added, "many parts have to be ordered from outside Regina. They aren't parts that you order off of Amazon, and they can take a long time to arrive. Failures can force closures for days, hours, [or] maybe even weeks or months."
Regarding the topic of closures, a big factor in the 2025 operational mill rate increase is for RPL to invest in new technology that will support their cyber security.
The reason for that is other big cities, like Toronto and Calgary, have seen their libraries fall victim to cyber-attacks. In , all of their 100 branches were shut down, with computers and printers becoming unavailable. On top of that, thousands of employees had their personal information breached.
RPL is hoping to avoid a scenario where there is a risk of costs because they were forced to close their branches for months potentially.
As for the feedback the RPL has heard from residents regarding the need for a new central branch, a survey was conducted by the group with 400 households participating in it.
It was found 75 per cent of those surveyed believed a new central library is important. Sixty three per cent supported investing in a new central library, while 66 per cent believed the project is a great use of public spending.
With roughly 35 per cent of people not supporting funding the new public library, Gavigan said those are people who likely don’t use the library, so they wouldn’t see the need for a new one.
For those who don't support funding the new library, Gavigan tells people, "if there is a failure here [at the current central branch] and we have to close this library, the number of programs and services that operate out of here would significantly impact people who use it."
Looking ahead to tomorrow, once the executive committee discusses the motion, it is recommended that the motion be referred to when city council discusses the 2025 budget in March.
If everything is approved, the RPL believes construction can take place between 2027 and 2029, with the new central branch opening in 2030.
