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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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% {" v( g& h9 uThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. , h4 f6 H. q* v1 P" p
: |+ ?% ^/ _0 v3 b4 e8 W/ eEdmontonians 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. 5 A2 i* c% V: T
1 w/ e" h/ b/ lMandel 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* F' `, i4 G) r, [! Z0 A
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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1 f- A) a( ~2 @6 X5 EA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & u3 T: t$ m; H7 X L* j( [, 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.
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- M u5 G# c! O$ i/ w5 ?/ ECoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. - a1 g- T* c6 F- F; P9 ^
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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. . y6 f& A. n& E* p3 O- F! m
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 7 y5 R* G- T0 H# Y2 _% {' N8 {
! y, P- A2 h) s( _Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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# g" j" y) G6 _8 D/ w% |However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ! H' \1 n' q5 N, y9 M4 E. W
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. " _6 _2 m) P9 m) Z0 S: N
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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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"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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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+ T$ @/ x# m* x7 hThe 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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( y& ~% L* Z3 I4 @; pTax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
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