Judge dismisses Regina city councillors' application to add housing-first funding to proposed budget

A Regina Court of King's Bench judge has dismissed a court application asking the city to include the cost to end homelessness in its 2023-24 proposed budget.

Earlier this year, council directed city administration to include the cost in its proposed budget for the next two years. Instead, administration left it out of the budget estimation, and included a separate section laying out the expected costs and explaining why it hadn't included them in the budget.

Last month, Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens and concerned resident Florence Stratton launched a lawsuit against the new city manager, Niki Anderson.

They argued the housing-first funding — initially estimated at $24.9 million — should have been included in the proposed budget, as per council's vote in June.

City administration has said, after looking into it further, that the estimated total had grown five-fold to $125 million. That would mean a mill rate increase of 21.7 per cent in 2023 and another 4.24 per cent in 2024, which works out to almost $500 in property taxes next year and just more than $600 the year after that. Therefore, city administration said, it was left out of the proposed budget.

In court this week, Stratton and Stevens' lawyer — Ward 6 Coun. Dan LeBlanc — said this legal action was about process and whether the city manager listens to council. 

Meanwhile, Milad Alishahi, Anderson's lawyer, argued this is "purely political" and not about homelessness.

Justice John Morrall ultimately ruled Wednesday that this issue needs to go back to council for further discussion. Should a councillor want it included in budget deliberations, he recommended they bring forward another motion to get it added to the agenda.

"While the arguments raised a novel and complex issue in law, the facts were relatively simple," the judge wrote in his decision.

"Given the available remedy and the other determinations made in this decision, the application is dismissed."

Morrall also ruled the city manager's court costs will be paid by Stevens and Stratton, who initiated the legal action.

In an emailed statement, Alishahi said he's "very pleased" with the judge's ruling.

"The decision by Ms. Anderson not to include the projected costs to 'solve homelessness' in the proposed budget was a discretionary decision and exercised in good faith, based on relevant considerations, including the financial health of the city," the lawyer said.

"The city manager owes her duties to council as a whole, not any individual ratepayer or any single member of council."

Speaking to reporters after the decision came down Wednesday afternoon, LeBlanc said he's disappointed with the outcome.

"I think there are some tough political implications," LeBlanc said. 

"On my first review of the decision, it turns out the city manager does not have a public legal duty to follow council's directions. That makes one question, I think, why do we provide directions?"

The budget deliberations began Wednesday and could continue into Friday.

LeBlanc said he anticipates he will bring a motion to council Thursday calling for the homelessness funding to be added into the proposed budget.

"I think the community told us in June — and it's going to tell us today and tomorrow — [it wants] to solve homelessness," he said.

"They're tired of neighbours dying of fentanyl in tents, so something has to be done. It's too bad that we have to take a second kick at it."