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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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# }3 q, z# M; P7 yThink 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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( c# t$ c5 b: Z2 Y6 c, C/ r, O9 QMandel 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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3 _! y. d. Z- M; \. J"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 estimates
' \% e c" j. @( B' _0 `"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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, x5 Y( i$ h* p7 w2 [9 U9 M"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. 1 k( n9 M3 y% Q) [- k2 T0 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. % p+ F" k1 c4 S/ p+ h- r
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 9 ?- Z% u/ }# D/ v3 A$ X* i
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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. ' ?( ]# z; q5 }" R
4 h1 Q; k# \, J l4 f- L"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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* j. Z9 r9 X( ~: x0 t1 H7 lMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. % E; [% N( ~6 [
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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.
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7 J L( Z. N6 {' x. v3 IScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. . F2 x8 E6 g! l& n( ^& I
( r% ~2 P. o. d/ O% ]( p+ GHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. " L$ X/ M' E5 k3 f) g
( c2 b* [4 G# s$ f5 C+ x7 ^"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 ]$ ]- D% c0 v1 z* s0 r, z/ {
d8 n* C: H% }2 | i d$ s"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." ( v( S8 p7 Z3 t! p1 J
: `2 ^2 Z! ?7 _7 V& k) w4 AThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ) e; t5 E0 \: E& l7 w3 h: S
- B# V% i$ G7 e; y% s& \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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- C. T- v* n$ ^. o9 zTax 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
