Large capital projects likely off the table in next budget, councillor says

Don't expect anything too flashy out of the budget decisions that Edmonton city council will be making this fall, says a councillor with a couple of budget cycles under his belt.

"I don't foresee any large city-building projects, at all, on the table," Coun. Aaron Paquette of Ward Dene told Taproot. "If anything, it's just maintenance — we need a bus garage, that's about it, some fire halls. New (recreation) centres? Absolutely not."

Paquette, who was elected for his third council term in October of 2025, joined Episode 364 of Speaking Municipally to discuss how he's approaching the 2027-2030 budget.

Edmonton makes most of its operating and capital budget decisions in four-year chunks, with annual adjustments as needed. So the decisions made this fall will shape the rest of the term. After public engagement throughout the first half of this year, administration will release its proposed version of the 2027-2030 budget in early fall. Council will debate and make amendments over several days in late November and early December.

Administration has repeatedly said that limited funding is available to even maintain the assets that already exist, let alone build new ones. There is a $2.8-billion gap in what it would ideally spend on renewing city infrastructure in the proposed 2027-2030 budget, it says.

Paquette said that's an old refrain. "I would say, what is new in that message? When have you not heard that message?"

And yet, council has recently reduced the scope of two large projects — the Lewis Farms Community Recreation Centre was scaled down to keep its increased budget from bloating even more, and the southeast transit garage will be smaller than originally planned. Provincial funding for local infrastructure has decreased from about $420 per capita in 2011 to about $150 per capita in 2023. When accounting for inflation, the number is even more stark, Paquette said.

"It's a massive cut, probably by about two-thirds, and so you can imagine that's having a great impact," he said. "In fact, our infrastructure (renewal) deficit almost exactly aligns with that deficit from the provincial cuts."

That leaves limited options for municipal councils to fill the gap — they usually have to raise taxes or user fees. After a review of paid parking rules, councillors voted to approve a pilot program to charge for parking at the Muttart Conservatory, Valley Zoo and Fort Edmonton Park, which administration estimated could increase revenue by about $737,000 annually. Council also reviewed its user fee policy, because the cost of city services and attractions has increasingly shifted from user fees to property taxes over the past 25 years.

The city doesn't have a consistent approach for determining user fees, council heard. The policy will be presented alongside the 2027-2030 operating budget in the fall. If approved, the approach will likely mean that a larger portion — but not all — of the costs of a service will be covered by user fees instead of property taxes.

At the moment, Paquette said he would rather see the cost of services baked into property taxes instead of supported by increased user fees. While some may not support taxes going to an attraction they don't use, he said there's a social benefit of providing services at a rate that's subsidized by taxes.

"The quality-of-life discussion in a city is incredibly important, and you cannot discount it," Paquette said. "You can't say, 'We don't want festivals, we don't want art, we don't want things to look nice, it's all a waste of money because we should be looking at mere survival, subsistence-level living' — what's the point then?"

For much more from Paquette on the budget and his approach to politics, listen to the July 10 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast. And stay tuned for the July 17 episode to hear from Coun. Reed Clarke of Ward Nakota Isga for a rookie councillor's perspective on the budget.