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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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6 g) P6 N6 U( o9 I* w5 i: `2 o3 _4 ^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. ' p" `9 u- Y7 n6 Y5 W
) P+ s O; V& z0 ]5 \7 S0 EMandel 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 G6 A$ H m3 l+ }$ j- w
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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# e" p9 A$ N5 GA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 \4 E8 M' m0 U/ D2 v
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"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% A+ [9 O x+ |5 r9 C1 v9 T
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 8 [9 V* v) M* s+ a5 I& d
) h d+ X7 W3 x8 h/ S: [, QThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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0 d* |% f& N- ^- y. P( t7 D5 V"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.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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8 w/ g8 h! r1 q0 gMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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* h4 C+ b2 n/ P% l+ |2 LHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. . j) z8 D" D! m8 w! I1 ~. j
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 8 a7 c' T' V; x% Z [( j
G9 g. U/ B; k* NScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. . {6 Y* o' _. y) s8 O; c
* o5 e$ `6 G, ^& U, w' ?+ E5 b, U& ?He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. & C& j8 l6 \/ X, a% W
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"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." / ]% ~' w% m6 A
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * e6 e3 x1 ?5 {
8 R: [0 G2 w: j+ h8 zThe 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
