Edmonton homeowners could see 5.5% tax hike in 2013

Edmonton homeowners will see a 5.5 percent tax hike next year, if the proposed city budget goes through.

“We are presenting a budget that has a four percent increase for civic programs and a 1.5 percent increase for neighbourhood renewal,” said Lorna Rosen, the City of Edmonton’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

The proposed budget is in line with guidelines city councillors provided to the administration in June.

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The 5.5 percent increase means a typical Edmonton household would see a municipal property tax increase of about $98 for the year. This would see the municipal portion of the property tax bill for a typical $357,000 home rise to $1,888.

An executive summary of the proposed budget was released online, Thursday. It’s the first time the proposed budget has been released prior to it being introduced to council.

“We do want to provide council with the opportunity to examine the budget a little bit in advance of when we typically give it to them, so that they have ample opportunity to look at it, because it’s a big document and also because we think that the public transparency is a good thing,” said Rosen.

The budget will be presented to city council on Wednesday, November 14. The decisions they make will determine what the final tax hike will be for 2013.