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Smarter Spending, Stronger Edmonton: Getting the Most from Every Dollar

Updated: Oct 17

Let’s face it - getting more value for our tax dollars is a top concern for Edmontonians right now. A recent Leger poll confirms this: lowering taxes and improving services rank among the highest priorities for our city. Property taxes increased by over 20% in the past four years, and the current Council has locked in another 6%+ for next year alone, pushing household budgets to the brink and making housing more unaffordable.
The question came up multiple ways during the Chamber of Commerce’s Mayoral Debate. Maybe it’s just my background in municipal benchmarking and competitiveness, but I wanted to do a deeper dive.
So, how can we ensure our tax dollars go further? Here’s a look at the numbers — and some practical ways Edmontonians can get better value.

Facilitate More High-Return Development


Edmonton’s tax base is about 50% non-residential - industrial businesses, office towers and retail centres. “High-return development” expands this to also include dense residential projects (like our plan to double the downtown residential population) which generate more tax revenue than the cost of the services they require.
Increasing our tax base is what I worked on for year (with Edmonton and other municipalities in the region) as CEO of NAIOP, Edmonton’s Commercial Real Estate Development Association. 
It’s true that Edmonton’s non-residential taxes are more than double many surrounding municipalities, and that we’re losing more and more of our business to the region - but we have things they can’t compete with. We can turn this around by using our size as an advantage instead of an excuse to pull more taxes. I would play to our strengths with things like: 
  • Create a developer funded transit program for businesses looking to open in Edmonton
  • Build an infrastructure fund for industrial businesses that need new access into sites (critical for warehouses like Amazon)
  • Expand our supports for universities and create a pipeline directly between businesses and skilled workers.
Combine that with custom business support, and the ability to guarantee timelines, and we could be an unstoppable economic force, with new businesses and stable taxes. 

Stable Taxes Without Damaging City Services

Note: A previous version of this article used the words 'freeze taxes'. However a 0% increase in taxes is not possible as the previous Council has locked in many increases for future years.

While Edmonton’s population is growing rapidly, that population growth also means there are more tax dollars. In fact, we’ve seen hundreds of millions of NEW dollars of City revenue in the past few years. But where did it go? 
The City spends a lot of that on servicing debt, consultants, and mid-level management. The result? Front line services are getting a lower share of those dollars than they should. 
How do we fix it? I will initiate reviews of the levels of City management. CSU52 has said this could save over $100M per year alone. Further, I would create an annual review of the number of consultants, potentially saving another $50M+ every year.

Getting Value for our Buildings and Projects

Infrastructure costs in Edmonton are becoming hard to ignore. A recent report found that standard fire hall builds now cost over $21 million - nearly three times more than ones in Leduc.  Gold plated infrastructure means the city can’t contract out building to the private sector. And these cost premiums raise the question: are we prioritizing functionality and cost-effectiveness—or aesthetic features—when planning capital projects?
Imagine a city where tax increases are matched by real gains: efficient staffing, faster development, modern but economical infrastructure, and clear accountability. That’s not just better value - it’s smarter governance.
And that’s what I’ll bring to City Council.



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