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We all deserve an affordable city with excellent public services¶
Every 4 years, City Council is tasked with developing a budget for the following 4 years. Here is a snapshot of how Edmonton's budget is currently allocated:
City Councillors must carefully steward our tax dollars, and remain tireless advocates to demand a fair deal from the provincial and federal government. As the frontline service providers for many of the services Canadians and Albertans need, it is only right that we receive fair support.
Recently, I laid out three big pillars I believe the city should focus on for our current fiscal plan:
"To me, it’s very simple. Number one, we have to curb urban sprawl. Number two, we need the province to pay their bills and pay their taxes. And number three, we need to focus on renewal, not building new. It’s really that simple."
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/maxed-out-big-new-city-projects-unlikely-as-edmonton-nears-debt-limits
Find more information below:¶
We're investing in the public services that you and your family need.¶
AFFORDABILITY AND INCREASED SERVICES:
- Expanded library hours, extended outdoor pool hours, advanced construction on Rollie Miles Recreation Centre while keeping user fees low.
- Fought privatization to keep city services and jobs public.
- Curbed expensive urban sprawl and protected prime agricultural land.
- Worked to get the province to pay their municipal taxes and fulfill their responsibilities to Edmonton.
The Provincial Government must pay their taxes.¶
Premier Smith: Please pay your property taxes.
I have talked about this many times before and I will continue to do until there is a resolution. This isn’t partisan, it’s just fairness. We need Premier Smith to pay her property taxes: https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/michael-janz-alberta-govt-needs-to-pay-its-property-taxes-too
We must curb urban sprawl.¶
Sign up here to help us stop suburban sprawl: www.michaeljanz.ca/stopsprawl
We can’t have low taxes and 400 neighbourhoods of low-density development. Urban sprawl COSTS the city money while redevelopment EARNS money.
If you want to see lower taxes, if you want to see a more sustainable city – not just environmentally, but economically – a city that’s more exciting, that’s more vibrant, that has more things to do, that has better services, you’ll be excited to learn about how Edmonton plans to change the way we grow, curb urban sprawl and build in and not out.
No more provincial dollars for private interests.¶
No more provincial dollars for private interests:
The UCP continue to take funding away from cities, classrooms and hospitals but always seems to find the time and resources to pad the private purses. We can’t have a provincial government that puts billionaire hockey team owners ahead of you and me… (not sure if you saw my joint op-ed with Scott Hennig, the CEO of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (the left and right loathe corporate welfare!): https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-tax-dollars-for-calgary-arena-was-wrong-funding-the-oilers-wont-make-it-right
Check your bill: The province inflicts steep property tax increase on Edmonton.¶
Province will take more than $575 million from Edmonton property owners, almost $50 million more than last year.
As your Councillor, my responsibility is to advocate for Edmontonians and ensure that the decisions made at all levels of government are fair and transparent. This week, Edmonton City Council approved the 2025 property tax bylaw, a necessary step to fund essential services like public safety, infrastructure, and community programs. But within this decision lies a troubling reality: the provincial government continues to shift its financial burden onto Edmontonians, making you pay more without giving our city the support it deserves.
For a typical property in Edmonton:
- Total Property Tax: $4,720
- Education portion: $1,170
That is roughly 25% of your property tax bill going directly to the provincial government. This money is NOT directly provided to Edmonton Public or Edmonton Catholic schools, but flows into the general provincial revenue.
The Provincial Government has not provided adequate funding per capita despite enormous population growth¶
The provincial government has welcomed more people to Alberta through their Alberta is Calling campaign, but has inadequately resourced municipalities to provide the roads, parks, libraries, and municipal infrastructure required.
More people are coming to Alberta, especially Edmonton and Calgary, but we are lacking the support needed to provide the communities they deserve from successive Provincial Governments.
This link: Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) | Alberta Municipalities is a great resource that shows the change in funding on a per capita basis since 2011.
Alberta Municipalities has been an excellent resource on that and while the provincial government is correct that funding has slowly increased over the past few years, it's still well below what it should be at on a per capita basis since 2011.
This is one of the most important lines: "Yes, the funding pot will grow over time based on growth in provincial revenues (some restrictions apply), but with the funding pot starting at only $722 million, it could take 20 to 30 years to get back to the level of investment that was in place a decade ago."
Furthermore, we've seen numerous other costs downloaded each year that offset any potential funding provided.