City releases proposed 2022 budget adjustments package

Today, The City of Calgary’s Administration released proposed adjustments to the final year of the 2019-2022 One Calgary Service Plans and Budgets, which are available on the Council Agenda and Minutes page. 

To support Calgary’s economic recovery and COVID-19 response, City Administration is proposing a 2022 tax rate increase between 0.64 and just under 1 per cent, depending on Council’s direction. This rate increase is down from Council’s previously approved 3.46 per cent tax rate increase for 2022, which was directed in 2018. Administration is also proposing freezes or decreases to specific user fee and rate adjustments for 2022, such as freezes to blue, black and green cart rates, and reductions to building safety and development approval base fees.

“We continue to find a careful balance between reducing costs and modernizing our approach to service delivery, while still maintaining safety, protecting the environment, and delivering the quality and service levels that Calgarians want and expect,” says City Manager David Duckworth. “$226.3 million in permanent reductions have been removed from previously approved budgets since 2019, including the savings identified in this report.”

If approved, the proposed investments in the 2022 Adjustments package will:

• Improve access to programs, services, and amenities for equity deserving groups and improve community and social conditions for all.

• Help increase Indigenous relations capacity to contribute to greater procurement and economic opportunities for local Indigenous businesses.
• Support the advancement of Council-approved strategies and initiatives related to the environment.
• Help boost Calgary's economic competitiveness by providing changes key to attracting talent and business investment in a modern, globalized economy.

The City have worked hard over the last few years to limit tax rate and user fee increases while continuing to modernize services and invest in key priorities to better serve the changing needs of Calgarians and businesses. Taking the proposed 2022 adjustments into account, approximately 40 per cent of The City’s 61 services will still be operating on net base budgets at or below 2018 levels.

“Calgary’s population is forecasted to grow by 72,800 residents between 2022-2026 – more than the population of Airdrie,” says Chief Financial Officer Carla Male. “This population growth, combined with budgetary challenges from rising inflation, makes it difficult to find additional reductions and make strategic investments in our community without significant impacts to the services that Calgarians rely on.”

Annual adjustments are a regular part of The City’s four-year service planning and budgeting cycle which allow Council to make changes in response to the evolving needs of citizens and businesses. Citizens are invited to submit feedback on the 2022 Adjustments online at calgary.ca/publicsubmission. This website can also be used to sign up to speak virtually at the public hearing on Nov. 22. Council will deliberate the 2022 Adjustments after the public hearing, with a decision expected by Nov. 26.

For more information, please visit calgary.ca/adjustments.