City to spend extra $9M to fix potholes

The city of Edmonton will spend $9 million in extra tax revenue to fix potholes.

In December, councillors approved a tax increase of 3.3 per cent. A drop in the provincial education portion of property taxes means that the city hasanother $19.3 million in revenue.

The majority ofcouncillors approved a motion by Coun. Amarjeet Sohi to put half the money towards potholes.

Coun. Bryan Anderson said there were more holes than pavement on some roads in the city. He believes that city taxpayers will support council's decision to spend more money on roads. .

"It sounds to me like they're prepared to let us do anything if we simply deal with the problem," he said.

Normally city crews fill about 425,000 potholes each year. That number is expected to reach 600,000 this year.