One day after Edmonton city council approved a 6.1 per cent property tax increase for 2025, Joel Gray called the news disheartening, even if the increase is less than the 8.1 per cent increase proposed by city administrators earlier this year.
“I don’t have a big house so it won’t have the hugest impact on us, but every little bit counts because we’re being nickeled and dimed everywhere,” he told Global News on Friday. “I don’t like it.
“It just all adds up over time.”
Sylvie Daoust told Global News that while she is a renter and has a good landlord, she believes renters will be impacted by the tax hike because landlords will pass it on to them.
“Imagine if those guys pay more, they’re going to (financially) strangle us,” she said.
While the increase is lower than previous proposals, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi acknowledged approving the tax hike — which four city councillors voted against — was a difficult decision.
“I don’t think anyone is comfortable with the 6.1 per cent tax levy,” he said. “We always strive to bring it down as much as we can. …
“You can always lower taxes but at what cost to services?”
Gray said that he believes “things are costing more and the quality of services we get is getting poorer.”
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“It’s disheartening because all we see in Edmonton is a lot of overruns in construction projects,” he added. “I would like to see the city find a way to save more money.”
John Brennan, a political analyst in Edmonton, noted that because the holiday season is fast approaching and people are so busy at this time of year, homeowners who were not keeping up with budget deliberations at city hall may experience “sticker shock” when they get their property notices in the new year.
“It’s double the rate of inflation,” he noted. “So a 6.1 per cent increase in property taxes.”
Brennan pointed out that to reduce the increase from 8.1 per cent to 6.1 per cent city council had to use the city’s LRT reserve to offset a projected transit revenue shortfall for 2025 and 2026 and reduce the annual transfer from the operating budget to fund capital projects.
“They’re going to have to replenish those funds,” he explained, noting that the process will impact future property tax rates.
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Gerhard Henkemans is an Edmonton homeowner and said he was not surprised by the tax increase that was approved.
“There’s a lot of things that need to be maintained all year long and we have to keep things going such as our transit, snowplowing, pothole filling — and we can’t just stop doing them,” he said. “Nobody likes paying more, but I don’t like paying more for food and I don’t like paying more for a lot of other things, so it’s somewhat expected at this point in time.
Like Gray, Henkemans acknowledged that he has noticed the expense of some projects and cost overruns although he does not believe it would have had a significant impact on the property tax increase.
“They can look at that in the future as to how to make those projects less expensive,” he said.
City council’s spring operating budget adjustment will happen in April and the next capital budget adjustment will happen in June.
Edmonton property owners will learn about their assessments in January and receive their tax notices in May.
–with files from Jaclyn Kucey, Global News
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