A less snowy winter helped Edmonton save millions in 2016 and left the city with a $64.3-million surplus for the year.
It’s one of the largest in recent years, thanks in part to less money being spent on snow removal.
READ MORE: Less snow helps City of Edmonton save $64M in operational costs
Current policy dictates extra funds are put into the city’s rainy day fund, known as the Financial Stabilization Reserve (FSR).
READ MORE: The snow race is on: Vancouver’s snowfall total for this winter could soon surpass Edmonton’s
However, one councillor brought up the idea of potentially using some of that surplus to decrease the 2.85 per cent tax increase on the table right now, citing the current economic conditions and how hard they are hitting some residents.
“It’s a Financial Stabilization Reserve,” Coun. Mike Nickel said during a meeting at City Hall Tuesday. “It is there for the bad times… In good times, we put in money and in the bad times there’s maybe an expectation that it could be drawn upon.”
Ultimately, the idea was not pursued further.
Administration warned council that if the FSR or any of the surplus was used to decrease a property tax increase, it’s simply “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Meanwhile, another councillor said last week he’d like to take another look at some things the city previously declined in December.
“There were a few items that were in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars that were really those ‘nice-to-haves,’ but sort of a one-time only, so I’d be certainly interested in that,” Coun. Andrew Knack told 630 CHED on Friday.
READ MORE: City of Edmonton anticipates surplus by end of 2016, 1 councillor still concerned
He said he’d like to find out where the basis for the $38.3 million saved (not on snow removal) came from and if it’s sustainable or one-time only.
“There’s certainly some projects that had merit,” Knack said.
“Obviously, I don’t think we’re going to fund every single item that was on that list just because we’ve got that kind of money. I think you have to take a step back and recognize that this is a positive, but we don’t need to get too carried away. We need to compare all the projects that maybe were passed over, but maybe look at some other items that weren’t around when we were deliberating the budget.”
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News and Scott Johnston, 630 CHED
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