EDMONTON – Edmonton City Council has finalized its 2023-2026 budget, including the capital, operating and utilities budgets for programs, services and construction projects.
The budget focuses on climate action and energy transition as well as “community safety and well-being, transit, active transportation, affordable housing and homelessness,” a City of Edmonton release stated.
“Through this budget, we worked incredibly hard to balance the rising costs your family faces every day due to inflation with maintaining and improving the public services that you told us you rely on,” said Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi in a statement.
“We took meaningful steps to make housing affordable for you and for those who are struggling most, to take action on climate change by funding active modes of transportation, to improve the transit services you rely on and to make the city more equitable by ensuring Edmontonians can access core services across the entire city,”
Over the next four years, the $7.9 billion capital budget will support previously approved projects, including $2.4 billion for LRT expansion, $518 million for the Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion and $311 million for the Lewis Farms Recreation Centre.
Newly committed funding will also go to:
- $133 million for rehabilitation of Hawrelak Park
- $100 million to fund the Active Transportation Infrastructure Plan
- $53 million for energy retrofits of city facilities undergoing renewal
- $34.5 million for development of district energy networks
- $22.9 million for affordable housing land acquisition and site development
- $20 million to acquire land for the Metro Line LRT expansion (Blatchford to Castle Downs)
- $11.2 million for planning, design and delivery of emissions neutral fleet and equipment
- $10.1 million for infrastructure improvements in Chinatown
- $7.3 million for ramps at 137 Avenue and Anthony Henday Drive to support the city’s growth
Over the course of the 2023-2026 budget cycle, administration will also decrease spending by $15 million annually and identify options to transition $240 million to support council priorities of housing, climate change, public transit and core services, the release stated.
The approved budget represents a 4.96 per cent tax increase in 2023 and 2024, 4.95 per cent in 2025 and 4.39 per cent in 2026.
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