Update on the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budget

At the conclusion of deliberations, I did not support the final budget approved by Council. 

This is a challenging budget at a challenging time for Calgarians. Two-thirds of us are struggling to keep up with the cost of living right now. The City will need to collect between 4% and 6% more every year over the next four years in property tax revenues from households and businesses. It means that this year, a typical single-family household can expect to pay about 5.2% more in property taxes (the exact amount is still to be finalized). For some people, that might not seem like a big increase for one year, but compounded over four years, it means Calgarians end up paying a lot more in taxes. 

I think there are several good things in this budget, and I worked hard to ensure it was as good as it could be. But ultimately, I could not support these increases knowing how Calgarians are struggling with the cost of living, and how many small businesses are still struggling to get back on their feet. If we’re asking Calgarians to make the kinds of sacrifices that a tax increase like this will require, we need to show much better value for tax dollars than this budget was able to deliver. 

I’m still proud of the work that City Administration and my Council colleagues did in delivering this budget. There are many different perspectives on Council, but we worked together to ensure the voices of as many Calgarians as possible were heard. 

We’ll be making some additional decisions early next year that could still affect how much you pay in taxes, and we will revisit the budget each November for the next four years to look at changes. I’ll continue to work hard to make The City’s budget reflect the realities you are facing. 

—Sonya Sharp

While Council decided on City spending for the next four years, there are still some important decisions coming up that could affect how much you pay in property taxes next year. 

• Council successfully passed Councillor Sharp’s motion to explore ways to responsibly use City reserves to lower your property taxes for the coming year. There may be opportunities to move certain expenditures to future years where property taxes are already lower. Administration will report back on this at the end of February.
  
  
• Another motion from Councillor Sharp will have the The City advocate to the federal and provincial governments for more financial support for The City’s operating budget, including retaining a larger portion of the property taxes that The City is currently required to send to the province. This could reduce the amount of taxes that The City of Calgary needs to collect overall.
  
  
• Council agreed with Councillor Sharp’s proposal to defer a decision on the distribution of taxes between non-residential and residential properties until early next year. This will allow time for a more robust debate on this important question.

In addition to the overall budget proposed by Administration, a number of amendments from various City Councillors proposed some additional investment and advocacy over the next year.

Council will invest last year’s operating surplus into some of Calgarians key priorities. Using these surplus funds to offset the coming years taxes was also considered: unfortunately, this produces a “bow wave effect”—a sharp increase in taxes the following year, making it even harder to budget. The surplus offers a chance to invest in some top priorities, offering you better value for your money.

If you have any questions about the approved budget, please reach out to the Ward 1 office. We’ll also keep you updated on important changes from this budget every month in this newsletter.