Any spending requests for city council to consider are simply part of a “wishlist,” according to Calgary’s mayor, as fallout continues at city hall over the leak of preliminary budget documents.
It comes after Global News obtained the confidential documents, which indicated revenue from property taxes would need to increase by 20.2 per cent next year alone to fund an additional $510 million in operating spending required to cover every single spending request from across city departments and partners.
According to the documents, which were presented to council during a closed session on July 28, property taxes would also need to increase by 8.5 per cent in 2028, nine per cent in 2029 and 8.9 per cent increase in 2030, if all the spending requests got council approval this fall.
However, city council directed administration to narrow the scope of those requests within a 15 per cent property tax increase next year, followed by a 12.5 per cent increase in 2028, a nine per cent jump in 2029 and a six per cent increase in 2030.
Those updated figures will be presented to council during a closed session on Sept. 22, Global News has learned.
“At this time, city council hasn’t adopted any tax increase, we haven’t even adopted a proposed tax increase,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters Thursday.
“We’re still pencils to paper to really make sure we’re focusing on the needs over the wants.”
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