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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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0 R1 F8 s$ i# W- jThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. , m) V. ?) S+ ]0 Y8 C4 L& z! y; e& m
' G6 s2 U6 R3 C3 \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. ( F1 P: g4 S# \
% d# c" S4 v8 pMandel 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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" b% }' W! Q2 R# t. D% X"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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& l$ u" w. a* s% I9 aCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates) H0 B! G# N, b+ |9 H
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / B( [! o. ?8 |& b- O
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. % t8 T: [. k! x0 Y$ y& z
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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. . V& L! V" r+ H8 a3 O0 D3 m
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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.
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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. - k* b- z) }8 H: K
8 h" O+ z( k& H2 @! r; a5 U9 O"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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* E/ d' u8 }: \. V% ]However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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" z7 T: @) n1 [" t* b/ J"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. 9 r: A* e* d) a( D* F; _8 C1 Q# W
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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. 4 {8 J& J8 G( K: ^4 G
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. . _# b" X$ x% X" ~ O
$ E, }: m7 r7 b"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." ! X' h, `! @1 y1 c
6 ^! Y/ G K, Q! a" KThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * c9 {( k' P' J H
" b, y+ r" s# M" \8 e7 [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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v/ t+ H8 k- O0 p* e2 }6 UTax 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
