5 April 2007

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

The City Clerk's Office in Regina has been asked to make substantial cuts to its budget for 2007. The civic budget - which will be considered at City Council on April 17 - shows a reduction in the Clerk's regular budget of $60,000.

This cut cannot be made without a consequent reduction in services to the public. The City Clerk's Office acts not only as the Secretary to City Council and its committees, it administers Freedom of Information legislation for the City, oversees the city's records management program, and makes the City's historical records available through the City Archives. Any reduction to these services will reduce the ability of the public to access information in a timely and effective fashion.

The Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists (SCAA) is very concerned about the effects of this budget cut, particularly the potential effects on access to civic records both now and into the future. We would like to encourage all of you to contact Regina City Council and urge them to see that the continuing free and unfettered access to information in Regina is protected.

The SCAA has created an information package (including an analysis of 2007 City of Regina budget figures), available for download from its website at: http://scaa.sk.ca/publish/pdfs/advocacy-cora/CityOfRegina_InfoPackage.pdf

Regina City Council will be meeting to discuss the 2007 budget on April 17. Submissions to Council (which can be in the form of letters only and do not need to be made in person) must be received by 1:00 pm on Thursday, April 12. For more information about making submissions to Council, please see the City of Regina website, here:

http://www.regina.ca/content/city_hall/council_meetings/index.shtml

The Mayor can be reached by e-mail via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also e-mail all members of City Council through this form: http://www.regina.ca/content/city_hall/ward_map/email_all.php3 Full contact details are available in the information package.

Thank you for any support you can offer to this effort to avoid these cuts.

Sincerely,

The Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists

Key messages:

• the budget of the City Clerk's Office is being cut by about $60,000 in 2007. This represents a cut far beyond what will be achievable through "efficiencies" and will surely result in a reduction in services
• the average budget increase, across City departments, is 5%, while the corresponding cut to the City Clerk's Office is about 5%
• the City Clerk's Office plays a vital role in the democratic process. Through its records management, freedom of information and archival functions, it provides timely access to authentic and accurate information, both current and historical.
• Anything which impairs the ability of the City Clerk to act effectively in this role reduces our ability to exercise our rights as citizens
• while a cut to the City Clerk's Office budget is putting services at risk, other departments will see substantial increases, including special funding for communications exercise called "Branding Regina," and the new positions of a Mayor's communications consultant, Director of City Manager's Office, Manager of Government Relations, Manager of Strategic Planning and Performance Management, and Manager of Quality and Innovation.