administration’s report says the money would allow the organization to “focus on onboarding a new board of directors and begin the process of hiring a permanent ceo without concern for cash flow,” as was directed by city council in june.
that direction reaffirmed city council’s opinion that real is a valuable municipal asset worth keeping, though it did strip the organization of most tourism-related responsibilities, including event booking at mosaic stadium.
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at that time, council also directed real to conduct a deeper financial review, which is where this funding boost request stems from. real made a similar request last summer to restructure $3.4 million in debt, prior to an extensive investigation into the tourism entity’s ledgers.
administration recommends pulling the money from the city’s general reserves, because the operating budget is currently overextended. the audit and finance committee recently discussed regina’s mid-year financial report, which outlined a $2.4-million deficit projection for the end of 2024.
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budget discussions in 2024 resulted in a $5.8-million operating budget for real, less than the organization’s original request for $6.4 million. at the time, city council said it would increase the overall mill rate or defer capital projects in order to fulfil the ask.
city council has also since agreed to cover an $8-million debt real owes after a canada revenue agency audit was done into its use of the canada emergency wage subsidy during the covid-19 pandemic. it will also come from the general fund reserve.
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