As Edmonton city council talked about zoning Monday — councillors will have to contend with the City budget later this month. With an 8.1 per cent property tax needed to maintain city services.
“People are telling me that they’ve had enough. They can’t afford anymore, and I think what they’re looking for is some measure of efficiency from the City,” said Sarah Hamilton, the councillor of Ward Sipiwiyiniwak.
Last week, Edmonton city administration laid out the budget update that councillors will see later this month. Inflation and a growing population are behind what Edmonton’s City Manager says is behind the proposed property tax hike.
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“I think that they’re doing everything they can efficiently within the parameters council has set,” said Hamilton.
Councillor Hamilton says when it comes to City budgeting, she’d like zero-based budgeting — meaning the city would have to justify its expenses each year.
“Things like climate change and anti-racism, I don’t want to say those aren’t a priority anymore for Edmontonians, but I think it’s helpful to know if those are a priority in opposition to other things that are baked into the budget,” said Hamilton.
Outgoing city councillor Andrew Knack says a big part of the City’s budget woes come down to the province, putting the blame on unpaid provincial property taxes as well as costs to implement changes to Edmonton’s civic election.
“Council’s already passed a motion saying that they paid their full property taxes, we will use every penny of that to bring down those increases,” said Knack.