Calgary council wrestles with 2008 property tax increase

Calgary city council decided to defer $13 million in services, including hiring more paramedics and improving snow removal, until the spring while it figures out how to squeeze more money out of next year's budget without hiking property taxes further.

"What city council is doing today is balancing off those growth pressures while keeping firm with what we promised to Calgarians, which was a 4.5 per cent overall increase," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said Monday.

An increase of 4.5 per cent was set in 2005 when the city moved to a three-year budget cycle. That amounts to about $47 more for the average homeowner with an assessed property value of $361,000.

But council is now being asked to fund a number of new items to meet Calgary's exploding growth and the accompanying pressures,which weren't in the original three-year budget plan:

• $2.6 million for better snow and ice removal.
• $2.5 million to hire more paramedics.
• $1 million to hire more firefighters.
• $500,000 for more 911 operators.

Adding any unfunded items means council will have to find ways to cut elsewhere in the budget if it wants to limit the tax hike. Every $8 million added to the budget means a one per cent tax increase.

The deferral until the spring, when the budget is finalized and property tax bills are mailed out, gives council time to shift money from one program to another or to perhaps receive extra funding in the coming provincial budget.

Critics now question whether the three-year budget process is responsive enough in such a volatile economy.

"It's fixing this very badly broken bogus budget system," said Ward 12 Ald. Ric McIver. "Let's bring some public accountability back to it."

'We've streamlined it so tremendously that it's just kind of rubber stamping.' Diane Colley-Urquhart, Ward 13 alderman

Unlike the budget review in 2005, therewere no public submissions to Monday's budget adjustments.

"It's all about putting through budget increases without any public dissent and no chance for the public to participate," McIver said.

"We've streamlined it so tremendously that it's just kind of rubber stamping," said Ward 13 Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart.

Gord Lowe, who chairs the city's finance committee, denies the public is being shut out of the budget process, saying people can make presentations to the council's standing policy committees.

"There's huge opportunity. People don't take advantage of it," the Ward 2 alderman said.

But critics argue that committee presentations are not practical for taxpayers or business owners.

"They don't have the opportunity to cut out of business so that they can come down and sit in on city council meetings," said Danielle Smith, Alberta director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"They rely on groups like ours to represents their views at these kinds of sessions."