Reports detail potential cuts that could lower taxes

A report on millions of dollars of potential cuts that could chip away at proposed property tax increases landed in front of city council Friday.

The report, detailing what proposed budget spending can be cut or rejigged for the next four years, was requested by Ward 1 Coun. Andrew Knack earlier this year when he asked city staff to bring back options for one, two, three and four per cent tax reductions.

If the four per cent tax reduction plan were executed — cutting everything from minor sports subsidies to discounted leases for non-profits, and delaying the alley renewal program — the city could save roughly $185 million over four years.

Knack said after a quick review of the report, he already sees about $74 million in savings that could be adopted to bring down proposed tax hikes that would see a three per cent jump in 2019, and hikes every year until 2022, which amounts to about a 10 per cent increase.

One such option is changing the work plan and introducing a flexible schedule to the snow and ice control program, which would “significantly reduce” overtime costs and required labour but provide the same service.

“This is almost one of the ones where you have to ask yourself, ‘Why wouldn’t we have just done this already?’ ” Knack said.

The biggest opportunity for savings is trimming the proposed police budget, he said.

Knack said after an initial look at the report, he thinks the suggested reductions in policing should be

adopted. That would save more than $9 million annually in both 2019 and 2020, $10.5 million in 2021 and $24.9 million in 2022. Even with those reductions, police funding would still be increased.

“Doing the same thing we’ve done for the last 10 years with policing, which is seemingly putting more and more money in and not necessarily getting key outcomes that we’re all looking for, there’s probably a better way,” Knack said.

But Knack said he wouldn’t support removing police cash for “emergent” issues, which he said will be important so that the incoming police chief, Dale McFee, has some flexibility once he comes on board.

Another motion by Ward 10 Coun. Michael Walters was returned Friday, with a finding that Edmonton has the third highest ratio of full-time staff to citizens in the country, behind Toronto and Vancouver.

The report compared how many full-time employees a city has for every 1,000 residents. The outcomes were “normalized” by taking account the scope of service that falls to different municipalities across Canada.

Council has until Dec. 14 to debate the capital and daily operations budget, as well as spending for utilities.