Calgary council prepares for 'difficult conversations' as cost for Green Line escalates

Calgarians should get a better understanding of escalating costs for the city's Green Line LRT megaproject on Tuesday, as councillors suggest other projects could be paused or cancelled in order to pay for it.

Phase 1 of the Green Line was budgeted at $5.5 billion but officials have already stated climbing costs are a major concern.

The updated price tag has been kept under wraps for months, though some have suggested it could be billions of dollars higher than initially anticipated.

Calgary councillors will eventually have to figure out how to pay for the ballooning costs.

"We have some major capital financial challenges over the next little while and it's going to be how do we prioritize those," said Andre Chabot, councillor for Ward 10.

As of June, more than $1.2 billion had already been spent on the Green Line project, including design work and site preparation such as building demolition and the relocation of underground utilities.

The Alberta government has already signalled it will not provide more money to Calgary to cover cost escalations for the Green Line.

"How much more can Calgarians take on their bottom line? And so if we are delivering on projects of this magnitude and we have to add tax, how are we justifying that after the last four years of increases with this council?" said Sonya Sharp, councillor for Ward 1.

Most of this week's council agenda items related to the Green Line are confidential but council will have to consider changes to a borrowing bylaw about the project.

"We may even have to look at a tax increase to be able to move forward with some of these capital projects. I don't know if there's going to be any appetite for that, which is why I'm suggesting we may have to look at possibly cancelling some of our current projects," Chabot said.

"We're going to have to have some difficult conversations when you look at what's available for funds and what you can spend money on. ... And we still have projects, like the fieldhouse, that sit unfunded," Sharp said.

While the public waits for the updated cost to be released, advocates for the project hope there are no more delays.

"It's not just about climate action. You know, this is about having a fiscally responsible city," said Robert Tremblay with the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good.

"We know that transit is a lower-cost way of getting folks around, you know, both for citizens themselves but also for the city," he said.

In a letter released last week, the Green Line board acknowledged cost overruns but said a plan has been presented to council that considered project changes to minimize costs.

"Extensive work undertaken to reduce costs through value engineering and design optimization and the direct outcomes of contractor negotiations during the development phase," reads the letter in part.

Calgary's next council meeting is scheduled to start Tuesday morning.