April 23, 2024
City Council completed spring operating budget adjustment discussions today, approving a number of changes to the 2023-2026 budget to arrive at property tax levy increases of 8.9 per cent in 2024. These adjustments allow the City to respond to growing financial pressures so it can continue to deliver the 70 services Edmontonians rely on every day.
“The City is dealing with many of the same financial challenges as Edmontonians, especially when it comes to the cumulative impacts of inflation,” said Stacey Padbury, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager of Corporate and Financial Services. “Today’s adjustment allows the City to respond to the high costs we’re facing now, as well as to lower revenues and a rapidly growing population, so that we can continue to deliver the services that we heard matter to Edmontonians.”
The 2024 tax increase allows the City to respond to several budget pressures that have increased significantly since the budget was developed in 2022, including:
- higher than forecast costs for energy, labour and WCB insurance premiums
- lower than forecast revenues from ATCO gas franchise fees, business licences and transit fares, and
- higher than forecast population growth.
“We now have a much better sense of the financial pressures we’re facing in this budget cycle,” said Padbury. “We can’t continue to absorb the financial impacts we’re facing this year and beyond without adjusting taxes or service levels, and it will likely require some tough choices on both fronts in the years ahead to ensure our long-term financial sustainability.”
Over the past decade, the City has worked hard to find efficiencies and savings to reduce the impacts of inflation and growth on its operating costs and on taxpayers. Since 2015, these efforts have resulted in a cumulative savings of $1.9 billion.
Council also approved increases to services in 2024, including:
- Operating the new Metro Line LRT to the new NAIT Station.
- Adding more bus service hours to improve public transit access and align to service standards.
- Increasing the response on encampments and support for unsheltered Edmontonians.
- Expanding library service at Heritage Valley.
- Piloting an Assisted Snow Clearing program for seniors and people with mobility challenges.
- Increasing support for major event bidding in partnership with Explore Edmonton.
The spring supplemental operating budget adjustment is the last step in finalizing the annual tax levy, which funds over half of the City’s operating budget. The City will bring forward a bylaw next week to set the tax rates based on the increase approved today. Tax notices will be mailed to all property owners on May 23, with property taxes due on June 30.
The tax levy increase will affect property owners differently, depending how their property’s assessed value compares to the market. On average, property owners can expect an increase of about $66 for every $100,000 in assessed property value. This means that the average household will pay about $8.97 a day to help fund 70 City services, including emergency services, parks, trails, roads, bridges, transit, recreation centres, attractions and social supports.
Key Facts
- Over the past decade, the City has worked hard to find efficiencies and savings to keep taxes manageable without significantly impacting services. Since 2015, these efforts have resulted in a cumulative savings of $1.9 billion During the pandemic, the City kept tax increases below inflation, including a decrease of -0.3 per cent in 2021 and a 1.9 per cent increase in 2022, which was the lowest increase among major cities in Canada.
- The average tax increase in the last decade (2014-2023) was 3.3 per cent.
- The last time the City had a similar tax increase was in 2014, at 7.3 per cent.
- The highest tax increase in the last 20 years was in 2008 at 11.9 per cent.
- The budget determines how much money the City collects, the assessment process determines how it's divided among properties. Each property's assessment change is unique, so the actual tax impact depends on how its assessment changes compared to others.
