Taxes top of mind as city budget deliberations begin

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — A week of budget deliberations have begun at Calgary city hall, as the Mayor and Councillors discuss the proposed fiscal plan for the next four years.

On Monday, citizen panels took to the podium to voice their concerns and desires relating to the $4 billion plan.

“It’s always fun at budget time, every year, for people to talk about how the sky is falling and the world is ending,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi outside the council chambers.

But he says property taxes remain the low compared to other cities, with property tax increases going up about $10 per month in 2019, then $5 per month in the remaining years. The sharp increase in the first year is due to changes to waste and recycling fees, and plans to help fund new communities.

While some express worries about these increases, Nenshi says the citizens panels are not afraid to ask for more.

“The vast majority of people who have come to us have asked us to spend more, and I anticipate that to continue to happen, yet it seems that the loudest voices are those that seem to think the city is inefficient.”

The mayor adds that there are $600 million in savings in this budget, without making any big cuts to service levels.

One of the most visible concerns has been a looming non-residential tax shift, which has the potential to hit businesses with an increase of as much as 25 per cent. This would help deal with lost revenue in the downtown core, where sky-high vacancy rates have affected the City’s bottom line.

However, the tax shift may not be settled during this round of deliberations.

“My preference is to not deal with the tax shift stuff this week. Let’s get the budget done, and we have set up three expert groups that will be reporting back to council in January about the shift,” said Nenshi.

The provincial budget will also affect tax rates, so the official increase may not be known until late April 2019. In response to a question that this waiting period may leave businesses even more disgruntled, Nenshi assured them that the city still has their back.

No matter when the number is known, the increase is unacceptable to at least one group.

“This is third consecutive year of (increases),” said Canadian Federation of Business Alberta Director Amber Ruddy. “And to say that that is a reasonable thing that a business owner can absorb, is completely unrealistic.”

Also among the citizen panels, the Advisory Committee on Accessibility hopes funding for Calgary Transit remains appropriate in order to meet their transportation needs, and groups representing established communities hope the city can pump more spending into maintaining their neighbourhoods, instead of increasing property taxes to help fund construction of proposed communities.

Council deliberations are set to continue through November 30th.

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