While many Calgarians are looking at property tax bump over the next four years, user fees in key areas are also on the rise.
City of Calgary administration delivered the proposed 2023-2026 budget on Tuesday, and with it a 5.2 per cent property tax increase for a typical ($555,000) single-family detached homeowner.
Along with that, users will see gradual fee increases in a handful of areas, including transit, recreation, and waste and recycling fees.
In the documents presented Tuesday, city admin said most user fees will see a zero-to-four per cent annual increase.
“This range of increase is to keep pace with inflationary pressures and comparable municipal fee and market rates,” the documents read.
The document also said that user fees offset the cost of delivering a service that would otherwise be funded through general taxation. The city does set fees in accordance with a city policy that takes into account the cost of providing the service, market demand and the extent of public versus individual benefit.
City administration was asked to come back with an overall budget increase that matched population and inflation growth. That number was pegged at 3.65 per cent.
City Chief Financial Officer Carla Male said user fees increased based on their guidelines and didn’t relate to city property tax parameters.
“We do not use user fees as a way to supplement property tax income if we find that we need more,” she said.
“We are not, in effect, using them for things we shouldn’t.”
Transit fare increase
One of the front-facing areas where user fees will jump is on Calgary Transit. The budget proposes a $.10 rise each year until 2026, at which time single ride ticket will cost $4.
Other passes will rise roughly 10 per cent over the course of four years.
Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said that the city must examine its long-term transit strategy. Plus, they’re still trying to recover from Covid-19 when ridership bottomed out at 16 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. It’s now popped back up near the 70 per cent mark.
There’s a bit of a misalignment in priorities, Walcott said. The example he used was that a residential parking pass in some parts of Calgary costs $15 annually. In contrast, a monthly transit pass is $112.
