Several city councillors have inferred Calgarians are in for a property tax increase this year as officials balance a slew of competing priorities in the upcoming four-year budget.
City council spent several hours behind closed doors this week at their final meeting of the summer to discuss the budget with city administration.
Council emerged and narrowly voted 8-7 on a number of recommendations, including a direction to administration to increase property tax revenue in 2027 “as a planning guide to further refine, scale and prioritize spending requests for consideration within the 2027-30 budget cycle.”
On Tuesday, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said Calgarians could expect to pay “some level of increase” on their property tax bills next year as previous councils “low-balled” the amount of spending required for essential services and infrastructure.
Farkas said city council will need to play “catch-up” on that spending, but wouldn’t commit to revealing how that spending could impact a property tax increase when asked on Wednesday.
“I’m not going into this current budget debate with a specific number in mind, because that number would be purely arbitrary,” Farkas said. “I’m going into this budget debate to get exactly what is necessary to solve the problem.”
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Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean, who voted against the recommendations Tuesday, suggested next year’s projected increase will be intolerable for Calgarians, and said city council will need to go line by line through the spending plan.
“We’re seeing a lot of significant asks and a projected tax rate that, for me, is unacceptable,” he told reporters.
Although the budget discussions were confidential, several city departments have publicly suggested they are seeking an increase in their budgets starting next year, including the Calgary Police Service.
Calgary Police Chief Katie McLellan, who joined council during the closed session, previously indicated the police budget request would be “significant,” in the hopes of hiring 660 officers over the next four years.
The Calgary Fire Department and Calgary Transit have also noted spending increases will be required over the four-year plan.
The four-year budget proposal is also expected to include commitments from city council including $691 million for prioritized recreation projects under the city’s GamePLAN strategy.
Additional funding for parks and $190 million to improve aging playgrounds has also been publicly discussed by city council.
The Werklund Centre also revealed its modernization project requires an increase to the city’s commitment to the project from $63 million to $125 million.
“What I’ve seen so far is a council that is trying to be all things to all people and so they’re adding significantly to the budget,” said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot.
“Some of the nice-to-haves will have to take a back seat for now until we can get caught up on our infrastructure deficit.”
City administration has suggested the City of Calgary will likely need to spend $49 billion over the next decade to address growing infrastructure needs.
“It will be important for us to be able to look back in 10 or so years and look at this generational opportunity and know that we did harness it and were able to do things like build homes, build infrastructure and arts facilities that actually do materially impact quality of life while not creating an undue financial burden that cripples the city over the long term,” said Ruhee Ismail-Teja with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Following the Dec. 30 rupture of the Bearspaw feeder main, its second in less than two years, Farkas said he made a commitment to address the issue of critical infrastructure funding “once and for all.”
Farkas said “significant investment” will be need to be leveraged from the province and federal government as well.
A draft budget is expected to be made public in the fall, and city council will begin deliberations in November.
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