Farkas addresses Calgary’s business community, promises ‘sharpened pencils’ ahead of budget
Global News
Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas indicated there is consensus amongst the new city council that next year's proposed tax increase is 'far too high.'
Less than 24 hours after being sworn in, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas addressed the city’s business community and indicated city council will be looking for ways to lower this year’s property tax increase.
Farkas made the remarks at his first ever State of the City address to a sold-out crowd at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Telus Convention Centre.
“We also have to control costs corporately,” Farkas said during a fireside chat with Chamber CEO Deborah Yedlin.
According to Farkas, city administration will be “getting some strong direction from this new council in terms of containing costs and the overall burden.”
City council is set to deliberate over the final year of the four-year budget approved by the previous city council in a matter of weeks.
The budget, previewed in September, features a proposed overall property tax increase of 3.6 per cent, which would result in a 5.4 per cent increase for residential property owners and 1.3 per cent for commercial properties, on average.
Although Farkas didn’t indicate which areas of the budget he would like to find efficiencies, he said council is ready to “sharpen our pencils” to bring down the proposed tax increase.
“We need a significant reduction in the amount of increase,” Farkas told reporters. “We’re still working with city administration, with the financial department in terms of how we exactly get there, but I’m very keen to work with my council colleagues and hear their ideas for areas of operational efficiencies.”
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