MACLEOD: Calgary's 15% tax hike is a bill for wants, not just pipes

Fifteen percent. Not spread over a decade. Next year. That is the proposed increase in municipal property tax revenue from existing properties in the 2027-2030 budget the City of Calgary released November 10, and it's the largest percentage property tax hike in at least 30 years. Not only that, but then 10% in 2028, 7.7% in 2029, and 6% in 2030. Four straight years of the city reaching deeper into your wallet, and a press release that calls it "balanced.".Let’s start at the kitchen table. For a typical single-family home, the city estimates an extra $37 a month in municipal property tax and $16 a month for water, waste, and recycling in 2027. That is about $53 a month, and only year one; your bill will, of course, differ with your assessment and water use. The combined increase for a median single-family home reaches $204 a month by 2030. The utilities are no bargain either. The rate increases are proposed at 19.9% for drinking water, 15.2% for wastewater, and 5.8% for stormwater. Those are rates, not rounding errors..Now look at the city's own spending. The total operating budget jumps from $5.12 billion this year to $5.97 billion in 2027, about $845 million more, and it will reach $7.867 billion by 2030. Add a recommended capital plan of $21 billion over four years, $13 billion of which is new infrastructure the city calls a "generational investment." Not all of that capital lands on the property tax bill, but the Council should be forthright about how much does, and where the rest comes from.And look at the payroll! The city administration's own year-end report shows its budgeted positions grew 6.1% in 2025 alone, past 15,300 full-time equivalents. The city notes staffing growth has trailed population growth since 2010. Fair enough. So break it down: how much of that $845 million buys managers and head office overhead, and how much buys the people who plow the roads and drive the buses?Some of this is real. Pipes and plants do not fix themselves, and the infrastructure deficit runs into the tens of billions. But I am not against fixing pipes. I am against being told that everything on a $21 billion list is a pipe.So here is the test every dollar should have to pass. Is it a must-have or a want-to-have? A must-have fails, floods or costs lives if you put it off, and it includes the dull preventive upkeep that keeps those things from happening, like repaving before the road crumbles. A want-to-have is worthwhile, but a family budget would delay it, phase it in, or fund it after the mortgage. This is how most of us budget our household; the City of Calgary should be no different.The must-haves are easy to name: the $1.7 billion for the Pine Creek and Fish Creek wastewater plants, the $616 million for the water feeder mains, the $420 million to rehabilitate pavement, and the $102 million for new fire and emergency stations.The want-to-haves are where the Council earns its pay. The proposal sets aside $284 million for the GamePLAN recreation strategy, which the city says includes the Forest Lawn recreation facility replacement, two athletic parks and its share of the Foothills Fieldhouse. Add $59 million to renew Village Square Leisure Centre and $47 million to redevelop the Forest Lawn Civic Centre. I am not calling any of this waste. But a want is a want. When a household is facing another increase, wants get phased, shared with partners, or deferred, not waved through under the same banner as the sewer plant..Then there is the police capital. The Calgary Police Service requested $192 million, a 73% increase over its last four-year capital budget, and the proposed budget includes it. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters the increase is "unprecedented," and that no budget, even a police budget, should carry a 73% increase. Police should show their math in public, like everyone else.Farkas also calls this budget "the starting point, not the final word," and says the Council will be "looking for savings." Good. We will hold him to it. Nothing here is approved. Public submissions begin November 23, and deliberations will run into early December, with amendments voted one by one.Here is what Calgarians should demand. First, a published list that sorts every capital item into must-have and want-to-have, with the cost, who benefits and what happens if it waits two years. Second, the department-by-department accounting of that $845 million, administration included. Third, a hard cap on the tax increase, with every want funded above it matched by an equal cut. Fourth, a plain annual report on whether the money bought what it promised. Fifth, transparency from every group or individual presenting their arguments to Council. Who funds them, who are they representing, and exactly why are they in favour of this expenditure?You can register to speak or send written comments before the Council decides. Do it, and be loud. Being quiet must not count as consent. Before one more dollar leaves your pocket, make them prove it is a must-have.

MACLEOD: Calgary's 15% tax hike is a bill for wants, not just pipes

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