Cops and taxes could be highlights of the next Winnipeg budget

Higher property tax hikes and more cops could be coming in next week's city budget.

Higher property tax hikes and more cops could be coming in next week's city budget.

For weeks there have been signals coming out of city hall that Mayor Scott Gillingham could raise property taxes above the 3.5 per cent annual increase he promised during his election campaign.

Gillingham has been saying the city's population is growing, so is the demand for services, but revenue to pay for them is not keeping up. The mayor said he campaigned on 3.5 per cent hikes, as well as getting a new funding deal with the province.

"We have not yet got that model from the Province of Manitoba, so we need to raise more revenue," said Gillingham.

But Gillingham wouldn’t say if taxes will go beyond the 3.5 per cent cap.

"The budget will come out Wednesday, and the public will see the details of the budget then." 

A spokesperson for the mayor said Winnipeg has the lowest municipal property taxes of any major city in Canada, and that won't change.