Calgary property taxes need to increase to meet growth demands, city officials say

Next year's property tax increase will now need to be bumped up to 4.5 per cent due to Calgary's ongoing population growth, city officials said Monday.

City administration presented council with mid-cycle adjustments to the budget at a strategy planning session.

The proposed tax increase is nearly one percentage point higher than what council has already approved for 2025.

Monday's recommendation, along with previous approvals for 2025 tax changes, would increase next year's tax bill by $8.86 per month for a median residential property assessed at $700,000.

The city is also proposing to raise water, waste and recycling rates by 3.7 per cent for next year. The fee hike will result in a $5.09 per month increase on the typical water and waste residential bill in 2025.

Winding down the recently halted Green Line LRT project is also expected to affect the budget. On Tuesday, council will receive a report from the Green Line board indicating what those costs will be.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that much of the tax increase will go toward downtown safety, emergency services and public transit — items that have been identified as a priority for many Calgarians.

"There are indications that the investments we've made in transit safety as well as public safety downtown have paid off, that people are feeling safer downtown," said Gondek.

"We know that the number of calls to address issues has gone down. So there are things that we are doing that are working and administration is saying to us, if you wind that back now, you will lose the momentum that we have built."

Coun. Sonya Sharp said council needs to be clearer in its direction to administration to find efficiencies to avoid the proposed increases. 

"The only thing I can say is that we've just continuously shown Calgarians that we're transparent on increasing their taxes," said Sharp.

Council will debate the budget changes in November.