RPL Presents Mill Rate Requests to City Council

We spoke with Regina City Council on March 17, 2025 to discuss Regina Public Library’s 2025 Mill Rate Requests.

Board Chair Marj Gavigan spoke directly to City Council about these requests.

You can watch Marj’s presentation to City Council on MyAccess.ca (starting at 44:25) or read on to see what Marj had to say…

Regina Public Library Mill Rate Request Presentation

RPL is requesting two motions for separate mill rate requests – one for the annual operational mill rate and one for the Central Library Renewal that was agreed to in principle in 2024.

Operational mill rate increase

Marj Gavigan, Chair, RPL Board of Directors

We are requesting a 4.58% increase for our operations. That’s about $0.80/month for the average homeowner.

Requesting an increase is not something we take lightly, especially in these uncertain economic times.

This amount ensures we can continue to provide programs and services for Reginans.

Libraries are essential in tough economic times.

They provide a lifeline for people in the community, with free access to education, job resources, the Internet, and support services that help individuals and families navigate change.

For many years, we have kept our mill rate low to lighten the load for taxpayers.

Unfortunately, that’s not something we can continue.

We are serious about our role as effective stewards of the public’s money.

We have assessed and discussed our budget and mill rate request and approved a budget with no reasonable flexibility before delivering it to you.

The amount we are requesting is absolutely necessary to our operational wellbeing.

Central Library Renewal

We are appearing before City Council to confirm your support for a renewed Central Library.

A central library is the heart of a city, and its intellectual and cultural life.

It’s a living, breathing institution that grows and evolves with the community.

In Regina, that growth has, for many years, been curtailed by our current building.

A new Central Library will transform our city, and our downtown.

It will be a hub for education, culture, innovation, and community engagement.

It will create opportunities, foster connections, and shape the city’s future.

Central Library Renewal is something we’ve worked on for a long time.

Over the past 10 years we have kept our mill rates intentionally low, knowing that this day was coming.

It’s here.

It’s time to move forward. Look where we’ve come: we can’t stop now.

A new Central Library is more than a building – it’s an investment in the city’s future.

It creates a smarter, more connected, and more inclusive community.

We know that from other cities.

Like Calgary, where mayor Jyoti Gondeck calls the central library “a cornerstone of the community” that “stands as a testament to the power of public investment in library infrastructure.”

Or Halifax, which attributes its downtown building boom to game changers including its new central library.

• Where economic growth, new multi-family living spaces, and new businesses are being constructed around the central library… because that’s where the people are. That’s where the people go.
• Where the population of downtown increased 34% in 10 years.
• And what was, for several years, the fastest-growing downtown in Canada.

It’s about infrastructure. It’s about investment. It’s having a vision for what could be.

Let’s activate our downtown. Let’s prioritize essential services like the library and invest in our future.

Let’s develop downtown to grow our economy, and our cultural and social wellbeing.

Let’s attract business and events to our city and elevate our profile.

Let’s make people feel good about living here.

Be the Council who acts on the potential of our downtown.

Be the Council who delivers it through a renewed Central Library.