Council passes Edmonton budget; sets 2015 tax increase at 5.7%

WATCH: City council has approved the budget, which translates to a tax increase of 5.7 per cent. Vinesh Pratap breaks down the numbers.

EDMONTON – City council voted Thursday evening to approve Edmonton’s budget, officially setting the 2015 tax increase at 5.7 per cent.

“These budgets are balanced and represent prudent choices for a fast-growing city,” says Mayor Don Iveson.

“They keep us on course to building an even more livable, attractive and well-run city, allow us to deliver on our commitments and maintain the services, programs and infrastructure that more than 878,000 Edmontonians expect to support our quality of life.”

The city says the 2015 Operating Budget, 2015 Utilities Budget and 2015-2018 Capital Budget will provide more than 90 programs for $6 a day in taxes for an average household.

“I think we need to… perhaps, start at the beginning and try harder to produce the things we believe are quality items,” says Councillor Bryan Anderson, “and really seriously consider how we can try to do less damage to a number of people in our city who really, really are going to be dinged over the next 10 years.”

On Oct. 31, when council got a first look at budget documents, the proposed tax increase for 2015 was estimated to be about 5.3 per cent. To compare, last year, council passed the 2014 budget which set the tax increase at 4.9 per cent.

“City managers have been committed to positive changes that create better value, ensuring maximum payoff for every taxpayer dollar,” says Iveson.

“They were able to find, including the police and the library, $15.5 million worth of new service for our citizens at no cost to the tax levy.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They were able to find, including the police and the library, $15.5 million worth of new service for our citizens at no cost to the tax levy."

“If they hadn’t done that, if we hadn’t pushed them to do that, you’d be looking at a 7 per cent tax increase right now for the same level of service,” he says.

Thursday, city council voted on a budget motion that includes an Operating Budget of $2.3 billion and a Capital Budget (2015-2018) of $4.3 billion.

The Operating Budget includes funding for: improvements to the snow clearing program, 89 positions for the Edmonton Police Service, support of the Green Shack program and extra transit service late at night and during peak times. (Scroll down for more details on what funding requests were approved).

The Capital Budget includes funding for: new and upgraded libraries, fire stations, a police campus and a transit garage; renewal and upgrading of recreation facilities; construction of transportation assets like the Valley LRT line, roads and bridges; and reconstruction of roads in about five neighbourhoods each year.

A municipal budget can be a tricky thing to navigate. As Edmonton city council ends deliberations, we have the highlights of what funding requests have been approved, denied or withdrawn.

Highlights from Edmonton’s operating budget talks

APPROVED:

Snow Removal

– an additional $1.125 million for snow removal was approved Thursday (to address problem areas, like windrows)

Green Shack Program

– increase of $107,000 to fund Green Shack Program on an ongoing basis

REACH Edmonton

– increase of $500,000 to fund schools as community hubs and out-of-school time on a two-year basis

Peak Period transit service

–  increase by $2.38 million to fund new peak period service on an ongoing basis ($1.98 million funding from tax levy and balance from revenue)

ITU World Triathlon Series

– increase by $1.2 million to fund the 2015 International Triathlon Series on an ongoing basis (with funding from tax levy)

Chinatown Plan

– increase by $339,000 to fund the Chinatown Plan on a one-time basis

Late Night transit

– increase by $1.6 million to fund service quality enhancements, late night service on an ongoing basis (with $1.3 million funding from tax levy, balance from revenue)

Nuit Blanche

– increase by $250,000 to fund Nuit Blanche Edmonton Event Support on a one-time basis (Nuit Blanche group must raise balance of funds)

Fire Rescue Services

– increase by $561,000 to fund fire prevention and training officers on an ongoing basis

Community Facility Partner Capital Grant Program

– the program will be given $2.9 million from funding from the Photo Enforcement Reserve

Waste Management

– increase by $3.9 million (from Financial Stability Reserve) to fund levering Edmonton’s waste management leadership on a one-time basis

Transit Strategy

– increase by $623,000 to fund the transit strategy on a one-time basis

Manning Drive Interchange

– increase by $400,000 to fund Manning Drive interchange staged concept planning and intersection construction on a one-time basis

Edmonton police

–  $2.4 million for police services’ 2015 operating budget (growth in policing service package) for 35 full-time employees

DENIED:

Federation of Community Leagues

– request of $50,000 to fund EFCL and civic engagement project denied

Edmonton police
– request to increase EPS 2015 operating budget by $5.2 million to fund growth in policing denied
– request that EPS 2015 operating budget increase by $1.6 million to fund transit policing denied
– request for $7.8 million to fund downtown revitalization and transit policing withdrawn.

Follow @Emily_Mertz