Edmonton city council looks for cuts to lower 8.1 per cent tax hike eyed for 2025

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Edmonton city council is signaling a desire to lower the proposed 8.1 per cent tax hike for 2025 but it’s not yet clear where cuts, if any, would come from.

Council got a first look at the 2025 budget at city hall Wednesday as debates on the draft capital and operating budgets are set to kick off in the first week of December. While council is pleased city administrators shaved off some costs that could have stuck Edmontonians with a much bigger increase, none seemed satisfied with the proposed rate for next year.

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Some members of the public would also like to see that number come down. A city survey found more Edmontonians would rather see services cut than further increases to property taxes that would maintain or improve them.

Council members floated a few ideas, from putting the entire $8 million higher-than-expected payout from Epcor toward lowering the tax rate, to cuts to the city’s climate office, to lowering neighbourhood renewal to three from four communities per year, to increasing fines for bylaw offences, adding a small charge for low-income transit passes, and pausing or cancelling capital projects in the early stages of planning. No cuts have been finalized.

Room to cut: mayor

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he’s working on a plan that will “strike the right balance” between lowering the proposed tax rate for 2025 while allowing the city to focus on priority areas and expand the economy. Council will officially pitch cuts or additions during the special budget debate meetings scheduled for Dec. 2-5.

“I feel that we have the room to go further below 8.1 per cent,” Sohi told reporters. “I am working on putting together a proposal that will see a marked decrease in the proposed tax levy, while focusing on continuing to invest in economic growth, in community safety, housing affordability, and core services.

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“I feel that we have the capacity and the determination to deal with these structural (budget) issues, and we are going to continue to work hard to ensure property taxes remain affordable at the same time we continue to invest in areas that matter to Edmontonians.”

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This council, the mayor said, has made significant investments in improving housing affordability, community safety and well-being, and he wants these investments to be protected while doing “everything we can to manage our finances and continue to reduce the tax levy from 8.1 per cent to a reasonable amount.”

The city’s finances are challenged for various reasons including tax increases below inflation in recent years and not budgeting enough for labour negotiations, Sohi said. In October, the mayor launched a campaign lobbying the Alberta government to reinstate about $80 million of provincial grants clawed back in lieu of property taxes.

The 8.1 per cent proposed tax increase for 2025 breaks down to include 5.3 per cent to maintain existing services, 0.3 per. cent for increases from projects pitched by city council, 0.2 per cent for growth on existing services, 0.3 for new and enhanced services, 0.4 to pay for operating costs of capital projects, and 0.5 per cent for the Edmonton Police Service.

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Where to cut?

Coun. Sarah Hamilton was interested in the survey results.

The public, she pointed out, always asks the city to find efficiencies and improve the quality of service without paying more money. Participants signed up to answer questions through the Edmonton Insight Community, one arm of the city’s public engagement work.

What stood out to Hamilton was how many people think there are areas where the city can save money.

Nearly 80 per cent who responded say they are somewhat or very uncomfortable with increasing property taxes to address the city’s budget challenges. About half of respondents supported reducing city services to keep the tax increase as close to seven per cent as possible.  Just over 40 per cent would support paying higher fees for people who use specific services.

Hamilton wishes the city had more detailed feedback from the public about what areas they would agree to cut.

“It would be extraordinarily helpful if we got more nuanced feedback in terms of where people wanted to see service reductions,” she told reporters. “People will say that we always need to find efficiencies. They want more service. They don’t want to pay more.”

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There will be no public hearing for the fall budget adjustment, the same process as last year.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby

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