2025 budget adjustments

On Nov. 5, Administration shared the recommended adjustments to the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets with Council.

Our recommendations balance affordability with the challenges of rising service demand, aging infrastructure, rapid population growth and high inflation. These factors impact the services we deliver to Calgarians and customer satisfaction. Our adjustments also respond to the evolving needs expressed by Calgarians and businesses. 

Why we're making adjustments

Calgarians need a safe, sustainable and resilient city. Our goal is to balance delivering City services, continuing capital projects and ensuring community development to address Council’s priorities. To ensure we’re focused on the priorities of Calgarians and adapt to economic changes, we update our budget each year.

To help decide what we invest in, we use data-driven results in our recommendations. This approach includes feedback the Survey of Calgarians, The City’s performance reports, Calgary & Region Economic Outlooks and research presented to Council. 

  • Have your say on budget adjustments

    Council will deliberate our recommended adjustments starting Nov. 18.

    Have your say and help Council identify which investment areas are most important to you.

    Register to provide written feedback or speak at Council.

Investing in what matters most

We’re recommending the following investments to address what matters most to Calgarians:

Infrastructure, maintenance and inspections

We’re investing in our water systems and improving pavement quality on high-speed roads, as well as other capital investments to maintain or improve infrastructure.

For example: 

  • Water, Wastewater & Stormwater: treatment plants, distribution, collection & drainage networks
  • Waste & Recycling Services: facilities & equipment
  • Playground and amenity inspections & sustainment

 

Housing, land use and local area planning

We’re investing in new community growth and supporting redevelopment in older communities, allowing for an increase in housing supply.

For example: 

  • Development of housing supply across three new communities
  • Housing development and public spaces in established areas
  • Transit oriented developments

 

Public safety and downtown revitalization

We’re investing to make downtown and public transit safer for everyone.

For example: 

  • Aligning emergency response capabilities to meet rising service demand
  • Increasing 911 capacity to dispatch Transit Peace Officers
  • Implementing recommendations from Downtown Safety Leadership Table

Transit and transportation

We’re providing ongoing funding to improve services and keep transit running smoothly. We’ll continue to invest in expanding our transit network.

For example: 

  • Designing the Blue Line Extension to 88 Ave. N.E.
  • Low Income Transit Pass Program sustainment   
  • Additional investments in Calgary’s pathways & bikeway project (the 5A network)

How we are getting there

Property Tax
Earlier this year, Council directed us to maintain the 2025 property tax increase at 3.6 per cent for existing properties. We looked closely at our investment strategies and funding priorities. Administration worked hard to find funding without additional increases to taxes or fees by:

  • Reviewing corporate financial capacity.
  • Leveraging other funding sources like grants and reserves.
  • Reprioritizing projects within Services.
  • Reallocating capital funds to higher priority projects.

This has allowed us to maintain the Council-approved 3.6 per cent property tax increase for 2025.

Utilities
Utilities are essential for Calgarians. Investing in maintenance and enhanced inspections is key to ensuring reliability now and in the future. However, current rates haven’t kept up with the pressures of our growing and aging system. Administration is proposing an increase in user fees for Water and Waste & Recycling as these services receive very little or no property tax support. This will help us keep pace with inflation and population growth, ensuring that existing infrastructure is reliable and resilient now and into the future.

Financial impact on Calgarians

In total, these adjustments mean that a typical single residential property, assessed at the median value of $700,000 in 2025 with a typical metered usage (19m³ or approximately 90 bathtubs full), will pay an additional $8.37 in property tax and $5.09 in waste & recycling and water utilities per month.

2024 adjustments

On Nov. 22 2023, Council approved adjustments to The City of Calgary’s service plans and budgets. These adjustments balance the desire to keep property tax and water, sewer and waste and recycling fee increases as affordable as possible for Calgarians while making meaningful investments in priority areas, such as affordable housing, public safety, and transit.

Council also approved a three-year plan to better balance taxes between business owners and homeowners. This comes as a response to some of the challenges for businesses and our local economy. It moves us closer to other big cities in Canada, which all have a lower tax responsibility for businesses. Council shifted one per cent of the tax responsibility from businesses to homeowners each year in 2024, 2025 and 2026. This will lead to a more diverse local economy, that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, expand the economy, and provide a stable revenue stream for The City.

Adjustments process

Here is how the Adjustments process works:

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