Property tax reduction top priority

Many Edmontonians want council to rein in spending, poll indicates

One-fifth of Edmontonians said they believe lowering property taxes should be top of mind for the next city council.

In a Leger poll conducted for Postmedia one year out from the October 2021 municipal election, the majority of respondents said they would like to see councillors prioritize economic support and recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 19 per cent said lowering taxes would be the best way to support recovery while 17 per cent said the main focus should be supporting businesses and economic growth. Another 14 per cent said councillors need to rein in spending and tighten the budget.

Leger Western Canada executive vice-president Ian Large said the call for fiscal restraint isn't surprising as a result of the cash crunch caused by the pandemic.

Residents see the city continuing to spend money and are concerned it will “come home to roost” in the form of increased taxes, Large said.

“It's not surprising to me that (as) Edmontonians we're looking down the road and saying, `Oh, somebody's going to have to pay these bills,'” he told Postmedia.

“In the next election, the conversation is going to be about how we're going to pay for all this stuff.”

Decreased transit and recreation centre revenues during the pandemic have residents wondering how the city is going to pay for planned `infrastructure and affordable housing projects, Large said.

“Had the agenda of council rolled out uninterrupted, we probably wouldn't be talking about taxes. We'd probably be talking about other things, like LRT developments or defunding the police conversations,” he said.

There were several other top priorities noted for council that received less traction from residents.

About 10 per cent said the focus should be on improving the lives of vulnerable communities. At the bottom of the list, increasing the bike network and adding bike lanes only had one per cent support as the top priority for council.

These decisions have been made in a way that people might feel was kind of rushed through.

On current initiatives, respondents were split on several council decisions and if the next council should continue to support them.

Of the six initiatives highlighted in the survey, support for the city's new Indigenous ward names was the lowest, at 29 per cent.

About 46 per cent said they don't support the ward renaming, with 22 per cent undecided, and 48 per cent disapprove of expanding the bike network.

For the Indigenous ward name decision Large said he believes the disapproval is due in part to poor communication and engagement between council and the public before the quick decision.

“At a time when we're not meeting, we're not going out, we're not connecting with the community, these decisions have been made in a way that people might feel was kind of rushed through,” he said.

“Edmontonians are supportive of reconciliation and council's working with Indigenous communities, but what they're troubled by is the lack of consultation and ... that the conversation wasn't had in public.”

On the decision to reallocate $11 million of the 2021 police budget to fund social programs, council received 46 per cent support with 41 per cent in opposition.

Affordable housing initiatives and the mandatory mask bylaw had the highest approval rating at 79 per cent, with only 14 and 15 per cent opposed, respectively.

The poll, conducted online Oct. 2-5, surveyed 500 Edmontonians. As a non-random survey, the poll doesn't have a margin of error.