Regina cuts environmental programs in wake of provincial budget

Regina cuts environmental programs in wake of provincial budget

After the provincial budget cut the grants in lieu to municipalities from SaskEnergy and SaskPower council was forced to reopen its budget and find the money all in a short period of time. Faced with a funding shortfall of $10.3 million, council decided to hike taxes another 2.5 per cent.

Some programs are not continuing, which includes the Treecycle, household hazardous waste and leaf and yard waste programs. The summer sweep for downtown was cut. The landfill will be reduced to winter hours and closed on statutory holidays, while garbage pickup will move to a bi-weekly schedule in the winter.

"Everybody feels uncomfortable and a bit of a twinge in your stomach when you think about what we're doing in terms of service changes and mill rate increases," said Mayor Fougere.

To see a revised budget with service changes, click here.

[Source: CKOM.com]