City Hall releases proposed budget: How much more you’ll be paying

The price of living in one of Canada’s fastest growing cities is going up $900 a year by 2018, for the average Calgary household.

The City of Calgary has released  its $22-billion budget proposal for 2015-2018, a budget that calls for tax increases as well as hikes in utilities and waste/recycling fees.

To pay for some ambitious plans for growth, City administration had been given a property tax increase target of 4.7 per cent a year.

Here’s the breakdown:

Proposed property tax increase:

The average household will pay an extra $324 a year by the end of 2018.

(municipal portion of tax bill only)

Proposed increase in city utilities:

The average household will pay an extra $488 a year by the end of 2018.

(monthly increase: $40.70)

Proposed increase in waste/recycling fees:

The average household will pay an extra $87.60 a year by the end of 2018.

(monthly increase: $7.30)

Total increase by 2018: $900

City council will debate the budget for two weeks later in November.

But Mayor Naheed Nenshi argues there isn’t much room to cut.

“I can’t say, you know, every third or fourth week I’m not going to pick up your garbage. So we actually have to recognize that we operate services that people use every day. Can we do them more efficiently? Sure,” he said, vowing the City will find those savings.

The City is forecasting a population increase of 25,000 people a year, which some councilors say makes trimming the budget difficult.

“You know we don’t have a choice. It’s the growth factor that has come in, so if we are going to slash and burn we can, but there’s not going to be services,” said Councillor Ward Sutherland.

Councillors are asking the public to provide budget feedback online, to help them make their final decisions.