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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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2 h" O r; t5 tThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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7 u' e6 E/ J0 L; \1 gEdmontonians 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. 0 h2 r5 f6 W5 P+ t, h& O, I
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Mandel 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 estimates
( G* `/ j# U5 l1 B$ I"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 8 x& w4 S4 ^ V% g( M- s# z
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. " ]* ]: x* ]5 N# J8 q: a% y$ m5 n- v
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The 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. 9 n, A+ R, M% q% U9 Z! M
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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+ z; @* N& b6 _( r4 x! V3 e4 {) A" ZMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. & G& u- `7 U+ p7 `5 l
" S$ m6 O5 M9 N: H2 bHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. c5 g L; g* ]& w3 O
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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. . `5 q% ?* g0 |% ?& }; [3 I! E8 E6 I9 b/ e
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 7 T) k8 h) Y. `# @5 Y8 f- h
( M5 P# q3 h4 \, C7 S2 U! D2 |4 LHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. # |* d0 e/ `( Y
( o4 P; a* Y$ c"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. : c1 _' e6 T: z4 Q, \ _
4 b4 D! Y& m& A# U G: F6 \ J6 J"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." , k3 Q3 S9 V! {: ~1 a
d4 {) f. Y" q+ zThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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8 T4 l, z) G/ FThe 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
