The results of the City of Edmonton’s recent public engagement campaign \u2014 meant to help inform priorities during city council’s budget deliberations this fall \u2014 suggest Edmontonians are reluctant to have property taxes be increased, but also hesitant to have city services be cut.<\/p>\n
The findings of the city’s 2027-2030 budget public engagement process, which included both in-person and online consultations, were presented by city administrators during Tuesday’s city council meeting. The polling results also found that citizens are conflicted when it comes to deciding what municipal services should be prioritized.<\/p>\n
The public engagement campaign took place in April and May and its findings will be used by the city as part of the process to build the upcoming four-year budget. Nearly 12,000 responses were received, city administrators said.<\/p>\n
“The choice between higher taxes or lower services, which is the reality of municipal finance, was one that was rejected by many participants across methodologies, with an expectation for the city to deliver the same or better services within the existing budget,” the public engagement report says.<\/p>\n
Other overarching themes that emerged included Edmontonians’ desire for maintenance to be prioritized, for the completion of existing infrastructure to be prioritized over new capital projects, for the city to focus on core services, and an openness to funding services through user fees rather than the tax levy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“One of the most interesting findings is that everyone agrees that we should be focusing on core services, but nobody agrees what core services are,” Ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson told reporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I think that really speaks to the diversity of needs in our community, and for me, really speaks to our need to be holistic in our decision-making.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The findings\u00a0<\/p>\n
Road and pathway maintenance was consistently prioritized by those who took part in budget engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city said over 70 per cent of respondents indicated winter road maintenance was one of their top five priorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other key priorities mentioned by citizens included Edmonton Fire Rescue Services and the Edmonton Police Service (EPS).<\/p>\n
However, the findings also show that roughly 40 per cent of respondents leaned toward being open to taking money from the police to balance the city’s budget.<\/p>\n
Policing remains one of the largest budget items for the city, according to the City of Edmonton’s Open Budget tool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz spoke about Edmontonians’ desire for a greater sense of safety, but also pointed out that he believes that doesn’t necessarily mean citizens want an increased police budget.<\/p>\n
Janz said the city has survey data “that says safety and security is the top priority for Edmontonians,” but said he has also heard from some Edmontonians that they actually want to see more money go towards crime prevention rather than police.<\/p>\n
“This is where I’m kind of struggling a bit,” he said.<\/p>\n
EPS told CBC News the police department “recognizes that Edmontonians have a range of perspectives on municipal spending, particularly when budget decisions involve competing priorities.”<\/p>\n
However, EPS added that based on the methodology used for the public engagement process, it does not interpret the results as evidence that Edmontonians support reducing the police budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n