Week 1 of city council's discussion of adjustments to the 2022-2026 budget saw some re-litigation of previous decisions, in light of a proposed property tax increase of more than 7% rather than the original 5% increase proposed in 2022.
During the Nov. 22 budget debate, Coun. Karen Principe proposed an amendment (seconded by Coun. Jennifer Rice) to halve the $100 million in capital investment in bike lane infrastructure that city council passed in 2022. "My intent is to try to minimize the tax-supported debt because that's our third-largest expense," Principe said.
Coun. Keren Tang asked administration what this would ultimately mean. An administration official said the cut would shave $123,000 from tax-supported debt in 2024, $776,000 in 2025, and $1.9M in 2026. Tang followed up by asking what this would mean for the overall tax increase.
"As a percentage it would be tiny …" another administration official said. "The tax-levy impact for that is a 0.01% (reduction) for 2024, 0.04% for 2025 and 0.09% for 2026."
A majority of council voted against Principe's amendment. Supporters were Principe, Coun. Tim Cartmell, and Coun. Sarah Hamilton. Coun. Michael Janz was absent.
Here's a look at what else has happened budget-wise and what to expect this week:
- On Nov. 22, while council debated where to shave costs, the CBC broke the news that most of the city's 60 electric buses "aren't fit to be on the roads." In 2020, under the previous council, the city invested $60M to buy 60 electric buses from now-bankrupt manufacturer Proterra. The city has made a court filing in the U.S., where Proterra is based, alleging that Edmonton's electric buses have "failed to meet contract qualifications with respect to range, battery life, reliability and durability." The news led Postmedia columnist Lorne Gunter to opine that the buses were "a colossal waste of taxpayers' money that was easily predictable."
- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, seconded by Coun. Anne Stevenson, was successful in getting an amendment through to use up to $14.8 million from the LRT reserve and $1 million from the pay-as-you-go fund to purchase 20 diesel buses in 2025 in support of the growth plan for the Edmonton Transit Service. Principe and Rice opposed the motion.
- A group of business organizations that included the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, BOMA Edmonton, the Urban Development Institute-Edmonton Metro, and NAIOP, released an open letter to council expressing concerns with the proposed tax increase. They argued the city should review its spending on agencies, boards, and commissions, and cancel capital projects that are not "aligned with core city needs." Chamber president and CEO Doug Griffiths told CityNews that this level of tax increase could slow growth. "I don't want to see us lose any more small businesses as we did during the pandemic," he said.
- The Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations called for the restoration of the Community Investment Operating Grant, which dropped from $3.65 million in 2022 to less than $1 million in 2023, leaving 106 non-profit organizations without any funding from this source. A further 36, the chamber said, have lost at least half the money they received prior to the cut.
- CBC looked at why city administration is proposing a 7% tax increase, and how it could affect people. The too-long-didn't-read version is simple: inflation is seeing cities like Saskatoon, Calgary, and others propose property tax hikes that are in line with Edmonton's. What will a tax increase of 7% mean for the everyday Edmonton citizen? As the CBC explained, property taxes are based on the assessed value of your home. If council passes the tax increase as proposed, that doesn't necessarily mean your 2024 property tax bill will go up by 7%.
- Calgary's city council approved a property tax increase of 7.8%, up from the 3.4% proposed before adjustments.
- Budget deliberations resume on Nov. 27 and are scheduled to continue on Nov. 28 and 29. To keep track of the decisions made along the way, the city has created an amendment tracker, which includes councillor votes.
- For more on Week 1 of budget deliberations, listen to Episode 243 of Speaking Municipally, in which co-host Troy Pavlek opines that "the game of 'budget chicken' is now earnestly afoot."
Photo: Councillors interact with administration at a city council meeting in August 2023. (Mack Male/Flickr)
Correction: This file has been updated with the correct name of the councillor who seconded Sohi's amendment on diesel buses.