FINAL 2023-2026 BUDGET

As you may know, my City Council colleagues and I passed the 2023-2026 Budget on Friday. It was a long process but I'm really pleased with where we ended up. I think we found the right balance of moving forward on strategic initiatives while keeping the tax levy increase below five percent. The budget we passed will result in Edmontonians paying roughly $34 more a year for every $100,000 of their home value, and will allow us to take collective action on pressing community priorities. 

While a more detailed breakdown of the full budget is available here, I want to focus on the amendments we made together as a Council. There were a lot of tough decisions that went into the final result. Whenever I found myself struggling with a vote, I went back to ground myself in the five goalposts I'd outlined in my last budget blog. I'm pleased that many of the changes to the budget reflected these principles.

I was proud to support funding for our climate change efforts and expanded transit service. This included close to $60M in funding for direct climate change initiatives, including district energy, an emissions neutral fleet, building retrofits, urban farming, and climate adaptation. The budget also included $100M for Bike Plan implementation, $7.8M annually for On Demand Transit, and $5.5M for the expansion of bus rapid transit. These investments are essential to follow through on our City Plan and Energy Transition Strategy and I'm so pleased we were able to make them. 

I'm also thrilled that we secured both capital and operating dollars to address the housing crisis we see playing out on our streets. This includes $18M a year to fund grants for new units, a homelessness response strategy, and the Indigenous Housing Strategy. The budget also includes $22.9M in capital dollars to match funding from the federal government's Rapid Housing Initiative, and we have asked City staff to come back with a strategy to get us to the full $91M capital housing request by 2026. A new $6.5M grant program will also help offset property tax costs for non-profit affordable housing providers, better enabling them to support the needs of our community.

Focusing on long-term housing solutions led me to the difficult decision to support a smaller increase to the encampment response team than was initially suggested. While our integrated encampment response teams have been doing exceptional work to address dangerous situations, the past six months have also demonstrated to me that enforcement at a certain scale doesn't necessarily lead to better outcomes as encampments simply get displaced and rebuilt. I'm pleased that we've instead focused new resources on the cleanup of abandoned encampments and funding for prototype projects that can offer more creative and effective responses to encampments. 

The budget also saw a commitment to key economic drivers of our city that will help encourage a range of spin-off investments. This includes funding organizations like Explore Edmonton and the Edmonton Screens Industry Office who help attract economic activity to our city, and critical infrastructure like an overpass on 137 Avenue to open up access to industrial lands. My motion to explore residential development incentives in the downtown was also approved and will be discussed early in the new year. This is a great opportunity to support the economy while building towards a more vibrant downtown.

A holistic approach to safety was also demonstrated in the budget. We increased funding to REACH’s Crisis Diversion program by $10M over the next 4 years, helping to ensure we have the right resources in place to respond to non-criminal crises in our community and decrease pressures on EPS. We also provided funding to expand the Community Outreach Transit Teams, an innovative model that helps keep transit safe and welcoming for all Edmontonians.

Edmontonians' input also highlighted a range of opportunities for the City to catalyze positive change in our community. I was thrilled to get my Council colleague's support for a project that will enable City archivists to work through the backlog of LGBTQ2S+ materials, a small investment that will enrich our understanding of our collective history. I'm also happy that my colleagues supported my motion to provide $500,000 in additional funding for the great work at the Bissell Centre and I hope we can continue to find other resources to support this and other front-line organizations. I also helped secure funding to support the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton and was pleased to support additional funding for Heritage Council’s amazing FIRE program.

As proud as I am of the budget overall, there are definitely a few disappointments for me. We weren't able to secure the funding to move forward with the 100th Avenue bridge, though the great designs that have been developed won't be lost and can be revived in the future. I was also sad that we were unable to commit to redeveloping the upper deck of the High Level Bridge into a vibrant public realm as part of the renewal work about to take place. But I am reassured that staff will move forward with designing the upper deck so that if funding is available in the future, we'll be able to realize the full High Line vision. This is a great community initiative that I will continue to look for ways to bring to life. 

I'm also disappointed that my motion to add additional resources to enforce excessive vehicle noise wasn't successful. I know what a significant impact these noisy disruptions have in our community and please know that I will continue working to find a way to address this ongoing issue.  

Trade-offs aside, I believe that overall this budget is changing our trajectory to a more inclusive, efficient, and resilient city.  I'm so grateful for all the hard work put in by City staff and my colleagues on Council. I’d like to give special recognition to Mayor Sohi. The clear vision that he has shown through this process has been inspirational and reminds me what effective leadership looks like. Lastly, I’d like to give my thanks to all of you who have shared your values, priorities, and input on the budget. I truly appreciate the time it takes to share your perspective and the care for your community that it reflects. Thank you for continuing to make me feel so lucky to represent this great ward and city.