Tax relief or transit improvements? Calgarians and councillors have ideas for city's surplus
The City of Calgary has an extra $147 million and council will decide what to do with it.
An audit of the city's 2021 budget found the surplus, which was revealed this week.
"(In the) private business sector, they bonus their executives. What are we going to try to do? We're going to bonus Calgarians," said Coun. Kourtney Penner, who represents Ward 11.
Some councillors say they're prepared to put forth a motion to use the money to repair sidewalks and roads, while other says their constituents want them to consider using the money to improve transit or increase the snow removal budget.
Dan McLean, the councillor for Ward 13, said he wishes council had known about the surplus last month, when they approved a property tax increase of just over 3.5 per cent.
"If there's a mechanism of some way to return it to tax payers, some tax relief on their property tax bills would be my preferred method for dealing with that surplus," McLean said.
On Monday, Mayor Jyoti Gondek rejected the suggestion that the surplus meant Calgarians have been overtaxed. She said there were always variations in revenue because of constantly fluctuating assessed home values.
"(The surplus can) be everything from keeping transit fares lower, to improving sidewalks and pathways, to investing it into snow clearing," Penner said Tuesday.
"There's lots of opportunities on the table and it's about how we leverage those dollars as part of a bigger budget."
Though some motions are expected from council members in the coming weeks, council may decided to defer the decision about what to do with the surplus until its budget deliberations in November.
For now, the money will stay in the city's rainy day fund.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.