EDMONTON – City councillors voted on a 3.33 per cent tax increase for 2013. The hike is substantially lower than the increase originally proposed, which was between 4.7 and 5.5 per cent.
The tax increase is comprised of a 2.33 per cent hike for municipal services and a 1 per cent increase to cover neighbourhood renewal.
That means, for a typical Edmonton home valued at $357,000, the tax hike will be about $60 and $47 for utilities.
The lower hike was possible thanks to an unexpected $6 million rise in assessment revenue and an $1.8 million saving on funds earmarked for the now-cancelled Indy race.
Tuesday evening, councillors voted on the final 2013 budget and tax increase. Councillor Kerry Diotte spoke out, saying he wanted a zero tax increase. Councillor Amarjeet Sohi said he couldn’t support the budget because of increases to user fees and cuts to programs.
During Monday’s deliberations, two motions to improve Edmonton transit were defeated. The first motion was aimed at easing overcrowding on bus routes. The other motion hoped to bring late-night service to Edmonton transit passengers. Both were turned down.
Sohi was quite vocal in his disappointment with the transit decisions.
Tuesday morning, council rejected the Edmonton Police Service’s request for $6.4 million in additional funding. Instead, council will be asking senior levels of government for added support for police.
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Councillor Tony Caterina was in support of the request for additional funds, however, it did not gain enough backing from other members of council.
Councillor Kerry Diotte said the police budget increases are not sustainable.
Mayor Stephen Mandel was also against the motion, saying some years one might have to “slow down.”
Council members explained they decided against the additional funding to send a message to senior levels of government. They said the decision was not due to lack of support for the Edmonton Police Service but they believe that services are being offloaded onto the city and therefore taxpayers are forced to pay the consequences.
While council rejected the bid for additional police dollars, members voted down a motion to cut the EPS budget by $11 million in a vote of twelve to one.
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