What's getting funded with Edmonton's 6.6% property tax increase
Edmonton City Council has approved the budget, and the property tax hike, for next year.
After days of discussions and deliberations, the council made the decision on Tuesday to increase property taxes by 6.6% for 2024.
That number is around 0.4% lower than the initially proposed rate of 7.09%.
“This was my 11th budget adjustment and by far the toughest one I’ve been a part of,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.
“We had to make some difficult decisions, I’m proud of this council for working together to protect the core services that Edmontonians rely on while keeping property taxes manageable.”
Despite the decrease, the City said, the adjustments made will still maintain most City services at current levels.
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Ahead of the discussions, City Administration said $41.2 million is needed to keep City services at the level they are at now.
The money is needed for an increase in salary for the police service, which was previously approved by Edmonton City Council, and higher energy costs, among other things.
A decrease in revenues from transit fares and ATCO Gas franchise fees also added financial pressure and contributed to the rate rise.
The changes made, the City said, give it room to deal with higher-than-forecast costs and lower-than-forecast revenues to keep the 70 services in its four-year budget on track.
Council also approved more than $16 million in increases to services including transit operations like the new Metro Line LRT to the new NAIT station and adding more bus service hours to improve access and align to service standards.
The Edmonton LRT with the city’s skyline in the background. (Lisa Bourgeault/Shutterstock)
That money will also go toward increasing the response on encampments and support for unsheltered Edmontonians, expanding library service at Heritage Valley, and advancing the work on Edmonton’s Anti-Racism strategy.
The adjustments made on Tuesday are in addition to the $142.4 million new operating funding the council approved in December 2022 for affordable housing, transit service, snow and ice funding, and climate adaptation initiatives.
The tax levy increase will affect property owners differently, depending how their property’s assessed value compares to the market.
An average Edmonton household would pay roughly $747 in property taxes for every $100,000 of their assessed home value in 2024 — an increase of $45 compared to 2023.
This amounts to around $8.71 per day. The City will send out 2024 property assessments in January.
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