Edmonton city council talks money for municipal projects

It’s budget time of the year at city hall. City councillors heard a report on how much edmonton had to spend on projects, meaning some are getting cut, and property taxes could be going up.

“It’s probably going to mean some kind of reductions, we’re not going to obviously impact core services, but the things that are core-adjacent might have to be cut a little bit,” said Aaron Paquette, the councillor of Ward Dene.

Edmonton’s city councillors getting an update on the capital budget, which is the money city council spends on municipal projects and debt financing.

Times are tough at city hall, with a nearly $100 million budget gap. Expect a reduction in City services, despite a whopping 13 per cent property tax hike that is on the table.

“For example, there are grants that go out to businesses for whatever reason, and that’s a good thing, cause maybe it’s a startup, we want to keep that going but maybe this year, we reduce that a little bit,” said Paquette.

Wednesday, councillors once again heard the claim some of the budget shortfalls is a result of not raising property taxes during the pandemic, while once again, Edmonton’s mayor repeated his often-heard complaint that the province did not pay its share of property taxes.

Edmonton’s mayor admitting budget talks will be difficult, but providing reassurance a double-digit property tax hike won’t happen.

“13 per cent property tax increase is absolutely unacceptable. We’re going to work diligently with our administration,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

Edmonton’s mayor and council all face an election next year.