New Edmonton city councilors learn the terrain as they prepare to debate the 2022 budget

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It’s been a week of school for Edmonton’s newly elected council with less than a month to prepare for its first big test: finalizing next year’s budget.

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Edmonton’s Green City Council elected last Monday didn’t have long to soak up the historic results before hitting the books for onboarding and training sessions. Eight new faces will serve on the council this term following the defeat of four incumbent councilors.

But they won’t have long to adjust to their duties with a 2022 property tax collection decision on the table in November. Currently, the city projects a budget deficit of $ 75 million in 2022, largely as a result of reduced traffic and recreation revenues from the COVID-19 pandemic. Already facing an approved increase in tax collection of 1.8 percent, tax collection could be up to 4.3 percent higher if the deficit is offset by taxes rather than a reduction in city spending.

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With a forward-leaning council elected, MacEwan University political science professor Chaldeans Mensah said this budget discussion will put the council in a delicate spot because social support programs and services promised during the election campaign may not fit the bill. the budget during this period of fiscal constraint. He pointed to campaign platforms focused on addressing homelessness and climate change, which require significant funding that may not be financially viable.

“The election result showed that there is a reservoir of support in the city for the progressive vision, Iveson’s agenda. But I think that vision is clashing head-on with the fiscal reality and the period of moderation due to the lack of resources of the provincial government and the taxes that are running out, ”said Mensah in an interview with Postmedia. “So the new council has to really limit their expectations in terms of how quickly they can implement some of the social protections.”

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Councilor-elect Jo-Anne Wright of Ward Sspomitapi, with 30 years of work experience in the financial services field, said she’s not sure much can be done in this 2022 budget to reduce the tax levy to a freeze without affect key services, which she is not willing to cut.

“Moving forward, I want to see how to keep property taxes low as much as we can without losing programs and services. I do not think that privatizing things is going to be a way to save money and maintain the quality of the services we have, but I do believe that we must be creative and find other ways to reduce our expenses, “he said.

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Councilor-elect Ashley Salvador of Ward Métis said her approach during budget deliberations will be similar to find the right balance between keeping taxes as low as possible and maintaining the services that Edmontonians depend on.

“We need to keep it manageable, of course. Upon exiting the pandemic, we must move towards a period of stabilization, but still maintaining basic public services, programs and infrastructure, ”he said.

The new council will be sworn in on Tuesday followed by the inaugural meeting of the period where logistics, such as scheduling, as well as agency and committee membership will be determined.

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