Taxpayers, business and the province are pressuring the city to cut spending, says Mayor Don Iveson, and he’s hearing them “loud and clear.”
Iveson plans to discuss his plans for the upcoming city budget at an availability with reporters Tuesday morning.
Edmontonians “no longer want to see tax increases that are out-of-step with inflation or the pace of growth,” Iveson has written in a blog post introducing a five-point plan for upcoming budget talks.
“This will be Edmonton’s toughest budget in a decade.”
Iveson’s plan says council must make “tough decisions” on cuts to services and facilities.
“Our program and service review is carefully analyzing every city service and program for its efficiency and effectiveness,” it says.
“Following through on the review’s findings will mean tough decisions for council on facilities and services.”
New requests for money must be limited, Iveson said.
“Any new spending requests must deliver long-term efficiencies and a return on investment for Edmonton taxpayers,” he says in the Monday evening blog post.
The plan also looks at reducing how much the city pays for recreation centres, fire stations and roads in new suburbs.
“City analysis shows that new suburban growth has been significantly subsidized by existing taxpayers, and especially businesses,” he says.
At the same time, Iveson says, the city cannot fall behind in maintenance of its core infrastructure such as LRT, roads and sewers.
Iveson says he also intends to continue harassing the province for larger infrastructure grants.