Budget adjustments passed by Calgary city council; property taxes to go up 3.6 per cent in 2025

Calgary city hall is shown on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Calgary city council passed its mid-cycle budget adjustments on Friday evening, following a long week of debate.

The budget was passed with a vote of 9-6.

The city's overall property taxes will go up by 3.6 per cent in 2025, which means the average single-family home with a median price of $700,000 will pay about $14 more each month.

In a statement, Mayor Jyoti Gondek called the budget "a clear commitment to the people of Calgary."

"It wasn't easy, but we made thoughtful, strategic choices to balance affordability with delivering the services Calgarians value most," she said.

"As a council, we had some very difficult and fiery discussions, and we made tough choices—choices that will help the city meet today's needs while planning for Calgary's future."

Gondek expressed pride in "protecting mental-health funding," "investing in safety," "protecting communities and recreation," "preserving support for affordable housing," and "protecting low-income support."

She also noted "important discussions" about "advocating to the provincial and federal governments on behalf of Calgarians."

In a separate statement, the city said the adjustments "balance keeping property tax and water, sewer and waste and recycling fee increases as affordable as possible."

The city said the adjustments "allow for meaningful investments in priority areas that improve the quality of life for Calgarians, such as infrastructure, public safety, transit and housing."

Voting against the adjustments were councillors Andre Chabot, Sonya Sharp, Sean Chu, Terry Wong, Jennifer Wyness and Dan McLean.

In a statement, Sharp said Calgarians need better budgets, not bigger ones.

"This process continues to prioritize bureaucracy over solutions, and I refused to support a budget that ignores the very real struggles families and businesses are facing. There were efficiencies I identified that would not affect the services Calgarians value," she said.

"Council had an opportunity to bring real relief, and the majority failed."

Sharp said there are aspects of the budget she does support, noting the allocation of funds to the Inglewood Pool.

Sharp said she also supports the waiving of patio fees and investments in public safety and critical infrastructure.

"I voted against elements of this budget because they didn't prioritize what matters most to our residents—affordability and accountability," Sharp said.

"Calgarians deserve a council that works harder to find efficiencies before asking them to pay more."

McLean told media he feels "there's still fat to be cut."

"There's some good things and some bad things, but at the end of the day, I had to vote no," he said.

Chabot told media he thinks administration "did a good job of keeping the budget lower than inflation and population."

"My main issue with this budget, and I've said it all along, is the shifting of the tax burden from the non-residential customers to the residential customers," he said.

The city has made more information about the budget adjustments available at https://www.calgary.ca/our-finances/budget-adjustments.html.