Edmonton city council approves 8.9% property tax increase for 2024
CBC
Edmonton property owners are being charged 8.9 per cent more in taxes this year after city council approved its revised operating budget Tuesday.
The increase means on average, property owners pay about $766 for every $100,000 of their assessed property value — an increase of $66 compared to last tear,
A home assessed at $428,500 will pay about $8.97 a day in municipal property taxes, the city said.
The increase is more than the 6.6 per cent council approved last fall and slightly higher than the 8.7 per cent administration proposed in its spring supplemental operating budget update in early April.
Stacey Padbury, the city's chief financial officer, outlined the reasons for the increase: the cumulative effects of inflation, higher WCB insurance premiums and salary raises for civic service union members in a recent labour deal.
The city is also taking in less revenue from ATCO gas franchise fees, business licences and transit fares, she said, along with more people moving to the city than expected.
"We can't continue to absorb the financial impacts we're facing this year and beyond without adjusting taxes or service levels," Padbury said in a press release Wednesday.
Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright said that the city faces the same inflationary pressures as residents.
"Rather than reduce programs and services or increase fees, as have been done in the past, I chose to approve the proposed budget increase to maintain those same programs and services that Edmontonians have come to expect," Wright wrote in a statement to CBC Wednesday.
Council voted unanimously to approve to the revised budget and tax increase, although Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he didn't agree with all the changes.
"I am not pleased about [the] 8.9 per cent tax levy increase," Sohi told news media Wednesday at city hall. "I did not support any additions beyond what administration recommended because I felt that we need to be as prudent as possible and not add more than what is needed."
Sohi is referring to several amendments that council approved during a long debate Tuesday evening.
Council approved $1.6 million for an enhanced cleaning program in 2024, called the Centre City Optimization project, which started as a pilot project in 2023.
Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson advocated to extend the program, which she said has enhanced the day-to-day cleanliness of the downtown.
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