Calgary’s proposed budget for the next four years will be released Tuesday morning, but councillors are already hinting at a double-digit property tax increase. Some members of council are also mulling possible areas where savings could be found, including an eye on a significant budget request from the Calgary Police Service. “You saw the previous reporting that the 15 to 20 per cent (property tax hikes) was a wish list. Well, now Calgarians get to watch whether that was a wish list or the actual budget, and they’re going to see it wasn’t a wish list, because council is going to have to spend a lot of time working to peel back the tax increase,” said Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness. In late September, city officials provided preliminary 2027-2030 budget needs: a 15 per cent tax revenue jump in 2027, a 9.8 per cent increase in 2028, a 7.6 per cent hike in 2029 and a six per cent climb in 2030. Those numbers will be updated for Tuesday’s official public budget proposal. The mayor says one area that will be closely scrutinized is a police ask to see its capital budget climb by 73 per cent by 2030. It includes a request to increase the CPS capital budget by $59 million next year alone. The service wants to replace 1,200 fleet vehicles, update technology and catch up on maintenance at police stations. “That’s a huge number and that’s one of the biggest drivers for why the starting point for this year’s budget is so high, but we can’t give the police a free pass. We can’t give the fire department a free pass,” said Mayor Jeromy Farkas. The service is also seeking a 19 per cent increase on its operating budget, in part to hire an additional 309 officers. Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean is not in favour of decreasing the requested police budget, but says the city should consider cutting a program called Safer Together. The plan, which was only proposed earlier this year, aims to build coordination between police officers, peace officers and social agencies to address issues of homelessness and addiction in public spaces. “That budget is $35 million and doing a lot of the overlap with what police and fire doing already. I don’t know why we’re even talking about it. You want to save $35 million? There’s the place to start,” McLean said. Coun. Wyness, meanwhile, says other projects that are not ready to move forward immediately should be deferred, such as the Foothills Fieldhouse, which is still seeking funding from the federal and provincial governments. “We have millions and hundreds of millions of dollars tied up for years. It’s time to free up that money and put it to projects that can actually deliver. Yes, there are big capital projects that need to be done, but council also has to phase them right now,” she said. Although Calgary’s budget will be released publicly on Tuesday morning, the public hearing won’t begin until Nov. 23. Council will then have to pass the four-year budget by the end of 2026.
