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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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1 B; m- _+ F0 e4 TThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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Edmontonians could face a "scary" tax hike of up to 10% next year, Mayor Stephen Mandel said. That would be the highest property tax increase since the 1980s.
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, |% D7 B, [1 S8 z+ C6 v0 m0 bMandel tossed out the figure yesterday following a presentation by administration that outlined the intense economic pressures the city is facing as a result of Alberta's economic boom. # H' Z5 \7 y# O
' L6 ^. {/ H( _* P! u# N \"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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7 [2 |7 w4 s- _) W/ hCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! X2 J1 u: ]( X- v5 L- o2 i( y
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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, q0 o( [/ S% i; I1 B: ?A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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, _9 t2 d" d. J, `7 b! `"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. * P# ]4 _) o4 z/ k: F' F6 ~
( ?. z a% d9 s' d1 YCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 9 J7 \( R3 J- H* Q! i, i( v: W4 P
/ z2 w7 H) ]; v" {; cThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ) d6 S" m6 P/ B$ O
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 0 h: z9 o( h. u( I; Z
5 o% i7 g; z4 W# sMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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# g" |6 L' {! }8 q' K7 d8 [* ~7 u& n& oHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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8 H( [- E" s" K/ g7 b; j' D% J"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. : t3 I+ E+ @) g
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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. a3 @2 ^/ L# @% t5 `5 R- PHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. $ g6 ^' P) v! o- l7 Q @) M
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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( j2 t$ I( \! x% ?! Y/ D, Q5 f"I don't know what some of these members of council are going to be able to say to some pensioner who got a 2% hike in their pension." / R' o; c) e5 I9 s
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. : p& q. d' f( R: p
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The tax on homes will go up higher than average - about 7%. The figures include both municipal tax and the provincial education tax, which the city collects.
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Tax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
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发表于 2007-5-9 22:25
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发表于 2007-5-10 11:37
