As what was supposed to be summer rolls along and fall quickly approaches, Council will soon focus primarily on the upcoming four-year budget. This budget is a golden opportunity for Council to build trust with residents and communities. Our goal as Council is to take your feedback and follow through with a reasonable and sustainable four-year budget.
This post will walk you through the last ten years of our budgets, where we are projected to be, where we think we can go, and how we get there. As always, feel free to reach out and share your thoughts.
Where We Are Coming From
During the campaign and throughout our first nine months on the job, one thing we continually heard was the need for Council to get taxes under control. In the simplest sense, the most direct way our city can impact affordability is through property taxes. Keeping taxes manageable allows seniors to stay in their lifelong homes, gives families more money to spend on essential items, and supports our local businesses.
Manageable property taxes do not just impact household affordability, they support local businesses. As a city, we can use multiple policy levers to keep Edmonton businesses thriving, but at the end of the day, the best thing we can do is ensure property taxes do not become one of their largest expense items. This Council has made economic development one of its core priorities, and to honor that commitment, we need to build a budget that takes serious action toward those goals.
We all know the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking at property taxes over the last ten years highlights three distinct phases: stable numbers before the pandemic, lows numbers during it, and the bill we had to pay afterward:
- 2017: 2.85%
- 2018: 3.2%
- 2019: 2.6%
- 2020: 1.3%
- 2021: 0%
- 2022: 1.9%
- 2023: 4.9%
- 2024: 8.9%
- 2025: 5.7%
- 2026: 6.9%
Now, entering our fifth year post-pandemic, it is time to get our taxes back on a sustainable track.
Where We Are Right Now
The initial projections discussed at Council estimated tax increases at:
- 2027: 5.6%
- 2028: 4.3%
- 2029: 3.9%
- 2030: 3.7%
At first glance, these numbers are still higher than where we hope to be, but they make sense in a larger context. We cannot jump straight down to zero or one percent; doing so would repeat what happened during the pandemic and set future councils up to fail. Instead, we must bring our budget under control responsibly and intentionally to create a lasting, positive impact.
Where We Think We Can Go
For starters, these projections show the downward trajectory we want to see. Although the 2027 figure is higher than ideal, major capital and operating projects currently underway must be completed at the start of this cycle. That said, we are confident that significant efficiencies and savings can be uncovered during this budget process.
Our team believes that if we make the right choices, aligned directly with our strategic pillars, we can reach target numbers we are far more comfortable with by the end of the four-year cycle:
- 2027: 4.6%
- 2028: 3.3%
- 2029: 2.9%
- 2030: 2.7%
These targets may seem ambitious, but there is a clear path to achieve them. Shaving roughly one percentage point off each year brings our average increase closer to 3%.
Here’s How We Get There
- Strategic Focus: We set Council priorities for a reason, incorporating input from both Council as a whole and the community. We need to use these priorities as a lens when making difficult decisions during deliberations. Done correctly, this helps us pinpoint the departments, programs, and initiatives that best align with our core focus areas.
- Savings are there: Departmental presentations and Council meetings have made it clear that savings and efficiencies exist. Uncovering them is only step one; the real work is acting on them. This requires Council to be bold and make tough decisions in the best long-term interest of Edmontonians.
- Innovative Solutions: We need to adopt new ways of operating. If balancing a responsible budget while funding every need were easy, it would already be done. To succeed, Council, City Administration, and the community must embrace creative ideas, collaborations, and external partnerships with organizations, businesses, and communities to reduce the cost of running and building our city.
If there is one main takeaway from this update, it is this: getting this budget right is Council’s top priority for the rest of the year. Final decisions won’t be made until December, but our team is eager, excited, and ready to dive into the work ahead!
Thanks as always for taking the time to read our thoughts. Let’s hope for a summer in September!