Regina’s Executive Committee approved a recommendation that would look at implementing multi-year budgeting starting in 2022.
The city currently budgets one year at a time.
Mayor Sandra Masters says many jurisdictions are adopting multi-year budgeting as it provides community organizations with some more clarity.
“Multi-year budgeting is intended, of course, to line up the short-term of the current year budget, plus include some longer-term planning relative to some of those short-term decisions,” said Masters. “It’s important from a stability and predictability perspective, this will allow us to create a little bit more predictability in terms of what’s getting approved for CBOs (Community-Based Organizations).”
Masters says multi-year budgets would allow the city to adapt to real-life events more efficiently.
“The multi-year budgeting framework allows for exceptions, exactly like Covid, which you would then, in any given year, go back in after budget was passed to make some adjustments due to Covid,” said Masters. “So, it always allows for adjustments as well as new initiatives that council undertakes.”
The recommendation will now go before City Council on July 21st, where they will decide to implement it or not.
If approved at council, the first multi-year budget would take effect in 2022 and last until 2024.
