Council sets 2010 budget
08
2009
At about noon today, Council approved the budget for 2010. We kept to our guideline of a 5% tax increase (3% for City operations, plus a dedicated 2% for neighbourhood renewal). The average household will see a tax increase of about $94 in 2010, or under $8 per month.
I’m very proud of this budget. We were fiscally responsible in a difficult time, but we didn’t sacrifice the services our citizens rely on. We found money to restore the swimming pool hours we had reduced earlier this year, and we ensured that the libraries won’t have to reduce hours. We also found some efficiencies and new revenue to cover an increase in the Police Service budget, so we won’t have to reduce police presence in the city.
Some other highlights of this year’s budget:
- New Transit service to the neighbourhoods of Silver Berry, Tamarack and Schonsee. These communities had no service outside of rush hour, so this was a major need. We also set aside money to address overcrowding on some bus routes and to consider new routes to link Mill Woods with the new South LRT when in opens in April. Council will decide exactly how to allocate that money in the spring.
- Improved Fire Rescue service in south Edmonton. Response times in the south are far worse than anywhere else in the city. Emergency services are one of our most basic responsibilities, so I’m glad we found funds to address this issue.
- Washrooms at Transit Centres. Washroom access should be a basic part of our Transit service, so I moved for washrooms to be added to the Meadows, Lewis Estates and South Campus stations. These washrooms should open in April.
- Neighbourhood Renewal. Last year we established a new program to dedicate funds to fix our neighbourhood roads and sidewalks (almost 200 neighbourhoods need serious repair). This funding is still intact.
- Crime Prevention. We found dedicated funds to support the new Community Safety Coordinating Council to start implementing our new vision for crime prevention in Edmonton. This work is more important now than ever.
- New efficiencies. We managed to reduce expenditures by several million dollars in several areas through new efficiencies and small reductions in some services. Overall, though, we maintained the service levels that matter most to Edmontonians.
Really, most of the hard work was done prior to December. Council worked very closely with City Administration throughout the year to make sure that Administration would present a budget to meet Council’s priorities.
I think we’ve set a positive direction for 2010.
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