June 23, 2022
Edmontonians will soon have an opportunity to tell the City of Edmonton what matters most to them in advance of a new, four-year budget. This is a chance for Edmontonians to tell the City what changes they would make to spending on programs, services and construction projects, and to the property taxes and user fees the City collects to help pay for them.
In 2022, Edmonton posted one of the lowest tax increases among major Canadian cities at 1.9 per cent. The upcoming budget will have to balance maintaining the programs, services and construction projects that Edmontonians use every day with the realities of pandemic recovery, the economy and keeping our eye on plans for city growth.
“The 2023-2026 budget will be about tough choices and trade-offs,” said Jodie Graham, director of budget planning and development. “We are going to have to make some careful decisions to keep delivering on The City Plan’s goals, recover from a really difficult few years, as well as anticipate what the next four years will look like for everyone.”
From June 23 to July 17, Edmontonians can try their hand at balancing a real City operating budget. The new Balance the Budget tool lets participants raise and lower spending on different City programs and services, and offset those costs by raising and lowering property taxes and user fees. The idea behind the interactive tool is to see where people’s priorities fall when looking at the whole picture. This is one of several budget engagement activities now available
online.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t the City’s budget—this is your budget,” said Graham, “the choices we make over the next few months will have a big impact on City services, programs and construction projects for the next four years and we need to hear from you so we can make every dollar count.”
Edmontonians are being asked for their input until July 17 on
engaged.edmonton.ca/budget. Results will support budget development and be shared with City Council to support their decision-making in fall 2022.
