Burnaby landlord questions city budget, tax increases

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

Burnaby landlord Gabriele Cocco couldn’t believe the numbers.

Upset at his increasing property assessments, he started looking at his taxes and making inquiries at Burnaby city hall, including a Freedom of Information request.

The figures he got back in response were, he said, “a little bit astonishing, quite honestly.”

According to the information sent to him by the city finance department, the population of Burnaby increased 15.8 per cent between 2000 and 2009.

During that period the number of city employees grew by 17.8 per cent. But the overall city budget grew from $208.5 million in 2000 to $327.3 million in 2009, an increase of almost 57 per cent.

The city portion of residential property taxes went up 56.3 per cent.

But for Cocco, who owns several light industrial and commercial properties, he was most aghast at the 191.6 per cent jump during that period in property taxes the city received from owners of light industrial properties and the 57.3 per cent jump in the taxes received in the business, or commercial, category. The city saw an almost 30 per cent increase in taxes paid by owners of major industrial properties.

“It’s obscene,” said Cocco. “I couldn’t believe the discrepancy between the consumer price index and the increase in property taxes. There’s no correlation.”

On one of his light industrial properties, at Waltham Avenue and Kingsway, the total taxes went up almost 52 per cent between 2004 and 2011, he said. However, the portion that goes to city hall saw less of an increase, at 27 per cent.

The budget increases “don’t relate to the private sector increases,” he said. “You couldn’t afford to stay in business with these kinds of [cost] increases.”

In the end, Cocco stressed, it’s not the landlords who suffer, but the tenants to whom the tax increases get passed. He’s lost at least one tenant who simply found the increases too onerous.

“I’m a frugal guy,” he said. “I don’t believe just because we’re in our heyday here and there’s a lot of building and a lot of money coming into the city that you should just go out and spend it.”

For his part, Cocco admits he’s raising his concerns now in hopes it will give voters something to think about as they head to the polls on Saturday. He believes it’s important to at least elect some people that could serve as opposition to the dominant Burnaby Citizens’ Association, which currently has a monopoly on council.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan responded that there were many things that happened between 2000 and 2009 that has resulted in increased operating costs at city hall, including growth in population and in the business and industrial sectors.

The large increases in property taxes collected include not only inflationary jumps but also more money from a growing tax base, resulting from new housing, commercial and industrial developments.

“So our tax base keeps growing … the actual services and the amount of revenue, will keep increasing but it won’t necessarily mean that your average citizen is paying more on their taxes than the normal rates that they expect” of two to 3.5 per cent per year, Corrigan said.

As for the increase in costs, much of it is due to wage increases and the provision of more services, he said.

The wages paid to the city’s RCMP officers make up much of the almost 55 per cent increase in the city manager’s department budget, which includes fire, police and library services.

RCMP officer wages added continuing costs to the operating budget in 2002 ($750,000 per year), 2004 ($600,000 annually), 2005 (24 new officers at a cost of $2.5 million a year), 2006 ($1.5 million), 2007 ($1.2 million) and 2008 ($245,000 for three additional officers plus $850,000 in wage increases). In 2009, the wage increase totalled $2.8 million, plus the RCMP received new mobile workstations at a cost of $450,000 and four new RCMP clerks ($350,000).

Policing was a big issue in previous elections, said Corrigan. “And we were asked to meet the community desire for more policing. As a result, we have been paying significant tax dollars to enhance our police force over those years.”

Corrigan noted that for several years before this period, RCMP wages were frozen which resulted in the large catch-up increases since then. In addition, RCMP are paid the average for the top three police forces in Canada.

“The problem is we don’t have any choice,” he said. The RCMP contracts are negotiated by senior governments.

Other ongoing cost increases have resulted from four new community police offices opening in 2000 ($750,000), the opening of McGill library branch ($2 million), a new city computer system ($3.7 million), improvements at Riverway Golf Course ($630,000), and the opening of the Tommy Douglas library branch ($1.6 million).

New facilities generally attract more users which creates a need for more staff and expanded opening hours, he said, noting that the Tommy Douglas library saw a 30 per cent jump in users, compared to the old Kingsway branch it replaced, as soon as it opened.

He said it’s expected that the new Edmonds community centre currently under construction, will cost the city $1 million a year in additional staffing, even after revenues are factored in.

There were 10 firefighters added for Fire Hall No. 7 in 2007 ($850,000) and another 10 firefighters and a fire captain added in 2008 ($1 million).

The increase in the city finance department’s budget, which grew by 102.5 per cent from $12 million in 2000 to $24.4 million in 2009, is largely to do with computerization of the city’s operations over that 10-year period, Corrigan said.

The wage hikes of other city workers has also added to the costs, he said, noting CUPE had a four per cent increase in its contract negotiated a few years ago, which is higher than the current rate of inflation. Until contracts come up for renegotiation, the city isn’t able to bring wage hikes in line with inflation.

The 59 per cent increase in the engineering department is largely in the utilities area (almost 97 per cent on its own) which is recouped from taxpayers, said Coun. Dan Johnston, chair of the city’s finance committee.

Those hikes included $7.6 million for watermain replacement, $10.5 million for the cost of water from the regional district, $8.7 million to separate combined sewers (to prevent sewage from accidentally entering local waterways during heavy rainfalls), $2.1 million in the cost of regional sewage services, $2.4 million for yard waste collection, $230,000 in Metro Vancouver garbage fees, $1.4 million for roadwork and $2.62 million for road maintenance downloaded by the province, much of which is recouped from TransLink.

Contracted salary increases accounted for $4 million of the cost increases in the department over the 10-year period.

Johnston stressed that people need to look at both revenues and expenses to get the real picture of the city’s finances.

“I think that you don’t get to be the best run city in Canada in 2009 without having committed to do a lot of things that make for a well-run city,” said Corrigan, referring to the Maclean’s magazine survey,

“You don’t get to where we are without spending some money and certainly that’s been true over the last years. We think that this money’s been a great investment and so far I think it’s proven that’s true.”

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/133848123.html

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City OK’s another parking lot

Posted on November 4, 2011 by admin

Last October, during the waning days of the 2010 mayoral race, Sam Katz called downtown Winnipeg’s plethora of empty lots an eyesore and a public safety hazard as he pledged to extend a moratorium on new surface parking in the city’s core.

Less than a year later, city hall quietly approved the demolition of the 89-year-old Orpheum building on Fort Street to make way for a new surface parking lot to serve clients of Yoga Public, the Fort Garry Hotel’s new four-studio yoga centre. Heavy equipment brought down the vacant building two weeks ago. In spite of the demolition, the mayor said he remains committed to reducing the number of vacant tracts downtown, as promised during his re-election campaign.

New incentives for developers who build on surface lots should come to council in early 2012, said Katz, who called the demolition of the Orpheum “a very unique scenario” because the new surface lot was required to support a $2.5-million redevelopment of the former Carleton Club, an even larger vacant building.

“We’re replacing a vacant building downtown with a multimillion-dollar investment,” Katz said Wednesday in an interview, referring to Yoga Public, which bills itself as the largest yoga centre in Canada. “This will not be a stand-alone surface lot. It’s the expansion of an existing lot to ensure the viability of a new business.”

For the past six years, Fort Garry Hotel managing partner Ida Albo has been trying to convert the 36-year-old Carleton Club into a yoga studio to serve both clients of the hotel and the Winnipeg yoga market. Those renovations are underway and Yoga Public is slated to open on Dec. 5.

Albo said she was only able to arrange financing for the studio after securing surface parking for Yoga Public.

“We would have preferred to develop the (Orpheum) building, but it wasn’t an option,” she said. “In our case, it was a condition of financing. We wouldn’t have been able to develop a chronically vacant building if we couldn’t supply parking.”

The new surface lot at the former Orpheum site sits next to an existing surface parking lot immediately north of Yoga Public.

Once paved, the new lot will be enclosed by decorative fencing with brick columns and will also be illuminated at night, Katz said.

The Orpheum originally served as a billiard hall before being converted into a theatre and eventually a restaurant. It has been vacant for the past decade, said Barry Thorgrimson, Winnipeg’s acting property director.

Thorgrimson approved the demolition of the building in September through an administrative order. No public hearing was required.

“What we’re trying to do is achieve a proper balance in planning,” he said. “Here we had a vacant building that had a history associated with drugs and crime. Visually, it was a blight and there was an open parking lot next door to it with no development standards at all.

“Meanwhile, the Carleton Club was vacant and a developer came forward willing to invest a substantial amount of money to create a new business.”

Thorgrimson said he does not believe Winnipeg will ever get rid of downtown surface lots, but his department plans to bring forward new incentives as promised by Katz last year.

Under the mayor’s proposed program, any downtown surface lot that is developed upward will enjoy a five-year freeze on property taxes — and then see the higher assessment resulting from the improvements kick in over the following three years. During this year’s provincial election, the NDP government made a surface-lot pledge of its own. In September, Premier Greg Selinger promised to build condos and apartments on four government-owned surface parking lots in downtown Winnipeg.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-oks-another-parking-lot-132223583.html

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Tax deadlines still sneaks up on some homeowners

Posted on September 9, 2011 by admin

The property tax lineup snaked into the city hall foyer Monday.

The deadline to pay property taxes landed on July 4 this year with Canada Day falling on a long weekend. Taxpayers rushed to avoid a 5% late penalty.

Most people pay their taxes on time. The reasons are varied why some put off paying them until the last minute or miss the deadline completely.

Many of those tardy with their taxes either simply forgot or needed more time to pull the money together.

The city has authority to not only assess penalties and interest, it can seize a property for unpaid taxes, so there is no benefit in not paying.

“I usually pay them by July 1 but I had to get money from my son,” said Linda Kingston. “I’m going to go through the automatic plan. I think that’s the best way to do it.”

Jean Hartley tries to pay her taxes before the deadline.

“I forgot,” Hartley said. “It’s the first time, really. I thought I had lots of time. I used to pay early, at the bank, I don’t know what changed me.”

For Pat Phan, it’s simply a matter of basic economics.

“I try to get enough money to pay it. I always pay it at the last minute,” Phan said.

Jeremiah Isaksen thought his wife had paid it already.

“My better half kept putting it off,” Isaksen said. “She gave it to me today and said: ‘Can you go pay it?’ We’re usually pretty good but it’s a bit of a gong show this summer, you can lose track of time so quickly.”

July 4 was new homeowner Brandon Schweighardt’s first tax bill. “I’ve been too busy working,” Schweighardt said.

Every till was staffed at the city hall counter on Monday.

Usually 95% of all taxes are paid by the due date, “which equates to about 60% of people paying their full amount,” said Laura Mercer, city finance revenue manager. Failure to claim the provincial homeowner grant leaves some people in arrears.

“They do get hit with a 5% penalty,” Mercer said.

http://www.canada.com/deadlines+still+sneaks+some+homeowners/5049852/story.html

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Have you paid your property taxes?

Posted on August 28, 2011 by admin

The City of Winnipeg is offering “Drive-By Drop Off” payment of property taxes in advance of the deadline to pay Thursday.

Tuesday to Thursday, city staff will accept payments outside of the Assessment and Taxation Department at the corner of James Avenue and King Street from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. To pay your bill this way, bring your tax bill and a cheque or money order — not cash.

Cash will be accepted in person at City Hall, 510 Main Street or at the Bilingual Service Centre, 614 Des Meurons. Winnipeg taxpayers can also make payments though their financial instituion or by courier, or take advantage of the city’s Tax Instalment Payment Plan.

“It’s important for property owners to make their payments by the June 30 deadline, to avoid penalties for late payment,” Nelson Karpa, city assessor in the assessment and taxation department, said in a release.

For more information on payment options please contact 311 or toll free at 1-877-311-4974 or 311@winnipeg.ca.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/06/27/have-you-paid-your-property-taxes

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Block property tax hike

Posted on January 2, 2011 by admin

When Mayor Sam Katz renews his commitment to a property tax freeze at the State of the City address Tuesday, the usual critics will whine that city hall can no longer afford a freeze because it needs the money to fix our crumbling bridges and roads.

They’ll argue a property tax freeze would force the city to budget with virtually the same revenue it did last year, causing it to fall further behind on its infrastructure deficit.

Costs are rising and the city’s needs are growing, the critics will say. Therefore, we need to raise property tax rates to pay for those growing expenses.

It sounds like a reasonable position. How can city councillors freeze taxes every year and expect city hall to keep up with growing expenses and a backlog of infrastructure projects?

The answer is fairly simple. Despite the tax “freeze,” city hall revenues have been soaring in recent years, both from higher tax revenues and user fees and from skyrocketing government transfers.

The city’s total consolidated revenues — which include everything from taxes and sewer and water rates to bus fare and licence fees — have grown a staggering 32% from 2004 to 2008, according to the city’s 2008 annual report.

City coffers took in $969 million in 2004. That jumped to $1.27 billion by 2008.

Taxation revenue alone — which includes all city taxes such as property, business and consumption taxes — increased 6% during that period, despite the tax freeze and a business tax cut.

User charges, including revenues from ballooning sewer and water rates — money raised in part to pay for expensive sewer and water upgrades — jumped 27% to $328 million.

Government transfers from both the province and the federal government more than doubled to $213 million in 2008 from $94 million in 2004.

And interest income and “other” revenues soared to $123 million from $54 million four years earlier.

Not all of that money goes into the city’s general revenue fund. Some of it stays with utilities, such as water and waste, and some goes into reserves. But it’s all city revenue and it all comes from one pocket: the taxpayers.

The city may have frozen your property taxes, but they’ve jacked up your sewer and water rates, increased your frontage levy and charged you higher taxes on your hydro bill because of increased electricity rates.

If you’ve renovated your property under a building permit, your taxes have gone up. Licence fees have increased across the board.

And even the amount the city charges you at Brady Landfill for residential use has doubled.

Add in the fact that the number of taxable properties in Winnipeg has jumped to 211,048 in 2008 from 205,366 in 2004 and you can see how city hall is raking it in.

So this nonsense about how a “freeze” would starve the city of much-needed cash is based entirely on misinformation and political spin.

The city doesn’t need more our money. If anything, they need to control their spending.

City hall’s salary and benefit costs jumped 14% to $564 million in 2008 compared with $496 million in 2004, according to the city’s annual report.

Supporters of a tax hike are demanding a “modest” 1% to 2% increase this year, which would raise $4 million to $8 million.

I have a better idea. Take the $8 million from salaries and benefits budget and leave taxpayers alone.

They pay enough already.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/columnists/tom_brodbeck/2010/01/25/12610331.html

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Tax-bill jump riles homeowner

Posted on June 4, 2010 by admin

A family of five got a nasty shock from Winnipeg’s city hall this festive season. Starting in the new year, their monthly Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP) bill is going up 31 per cent.

“They sent us a letter a week or so ago — our TIPP went from $169 to $221,” said Ken Thoroski, who lives in St. Vital.

“I thought there might be some kind of mistake.”

The city says it’s no mistake — the increase is for their own good.
“Given the recent increase in assessed value for many homes in the city, the assessment and taxation department is anticipating an increase in taxes for some homeowners,” a 311 operator told Thoroski in an email.

While any increase in property taxes won’t be decided until spring when city council sets the municipal budget, the TIPP program isn’t waiting.
“In order to diminish the impact of a possible tax increase, the department is estimating your possible 2010 taxes and setting your monthly TIPP payment accordingly” starting Jan. 1. Once the mill rate is set in the spring, the department will know exactly what Thoroski’s taxes will be for 2010 and adjust his monthly TIPP up or down as necessary, the city said.

“It’s wrong,” Thoroski said. “They’re hitting you as hard as they can up front.”

The TIPP program allows property and business owners to make consecutive monthly payments for taxes rather than a single annual payment.

It starts on Jan. 1 of each year and payments are made on the first banking day of each month by automatic withdrawal from an account with chequing privileges at a financial institution.

Thoroski said upping his TIPP payment by so much before the new rate is set isn’t much of a privilege.

“You’re going to pay for 12 months and they hit you hard up front so they’re way ahead and pay you back later,” Thoroski said.

“It’s putting more money in their coffers,” continued the married father of three.

No one is forced to be on the TIPP program, which was designed to help people budget their property and school taxes, said the city’s head of assessment and taxation.

“If they have a real concern with how they’re being requested to make payments when taxes aren’t due, then send us a letter asking us to remove them from TIPP,” Nelson Karpa said. The city will then send the tax bill in the spring and the family can pay it at the end of June when the full amount is due, he said.

Still, the increase in property taxes riles Thoroski, who says the city won’t address his complaints about the sidewalk flooding on his street and noisy, over-lit service stations near his home.

Karpa said an increase in property taxes follows the 2008 reassessment, in which the market value of some homes in Winnipeg increased by as much as 100 per cent from five years earlier.

“There was a pretty dramatic increase in the value of real estate,” Karpa said. The average property value increased 67 per cent, he said.

“We simply report on what the market has done.”

Homeowners whose assessment increase is above the city average will likely see their property taxes increase.

The market value of Thoroski’s home increased 78 per cent from 2003 to 2008, according to the city’s property assessment website.

If city council succeeds in freezing property taxes again, homeowners with assessment increases below 67 per cent could see their property taxes drop.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/tax-bill-jump-riles-homeowner-79968637.html

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Glen Murray responds

Posted on February 12, 2010 by admin

Re: Budget Chief Eyes City Sales Tax, Nov. 5.

This article incorrectly states that I support the sales tax plan put forward by Toronto’s budget chief, Shelley Carroll, and it misrepresents my views on municipal taxation.

I was mayor of Winnipeg when we proposed a 1% sales tax as replacement revenue for a 50% cut in property taxes as part of a larger plan developed to modernize city finances and reduce the overall tax burden. That plan was developed over two years in partnership with business, labour and community organizations.

There is no plan or partnership in Toronto to reform city government; instead city hall seems to believe that every problem can be fixed by adding or increasing a tax.

When I proposed a sales tax as part of a new tax system, Winnipeg had already made very tough decisions including cutting the city debt in half, reducing property taxes, shrinking the city government and reducing the size of the bureaucracy. The opposite has been happening in Toronto.

I believe in building the tax base, not the tax burden.

Glen Murray, CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto.

http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=2191889

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Sam said it

Posted on January 28, 2010 by admin

Mayor Sam Katz met last week with the Winnipeg Sun’s editorial board, discussing everything from photo radar to a police helicopter to funding for renovations to Canad Inns Stadium, all of which were the subject of Sun stories in recent days.

A collection of Katz’s thoughts on some other matters discussed during that same meeting:

Property taxes:

— “You can’t keep property taxes frozen forever. Is (lifting the freeze) a possibility? Yes, but I’m definitely not there at this stage of the game.”

— “The City of Winnipeg is too dependent on property taxes.”

— “There are many sources of revenue. There are user fees. To me that might be a fairer way. You use you pay, you don’t use, you don’t pay.”

— “A 1% increase in property taxes gets you $4.5 million. If you get one point of the PST, it’s $110 to $130 million. You can see they’re night and day.”

On changing the way the city accesses money from the province:

— “I think grants are silly. When you’re trying to teach your eight-year-old responsibility about money, allowances are wonderful. But saying here’s some money — be a good boy and there will be more, or giving you money so there’s a photo op, that stuff to me is nonsense.”

— “I think there should have been a greater commitment to the City of Winnipeg. I understand they had other problems to solve, but often they solved them by throwing money at them, and that’s a short-term solution. Figure out where your priorities are and that’s where you put your money.”

On finding efficiencies at city hall:

— “I personally believe we can be more efficient and save money at city hall … I think there’s a lot of duplicating. There’s definitely room in management (for job reductions).”

On running for mayor again in 2010:

— “Bottom line, I have every intention of running.”

On the Canadian Museum for Human Rights requesting more money for construction costs from the city:

— “They definitely asked for more money. I think the City of Winnipeg has made a significant contribution and my answer to date has been between our cash contribution and our services in kind, it was about $20 million. That’s a significant contribution to a significant project. I basically told them they should continue to go out there and find private sector money.”

On the possible return of the NHL:

— “I don’t know of anyone who is genuinely working on trying to get an NHL team in Winnipeg.”

— “It should be private sector-driven. If there are members of the private sector who want to bring an NHL team to Winnipeg I’d be one of the first ones to buy season tickets.”

On his legacy:

— “My legacy is Ava and Kiera Katz. My children are my legacy. And maybe the ballpark in my private sector life … (As for public legacy) what I want to see is a city that functions well and spends taxpayers’ dollars wisely.”

On his first meeting with new Premier Greg Selinger:

— “We had a very positive conversation and I think he and I will have a very good relationship. We’re both pretty straightforward guys who put it on the table. We were supposed to have a half-four meeting and it turned into an hour.”

On downtown development:

— “I’d love to take a two- or three-block area, start from scratch and do it the way it needs to be done.”

http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/10/31/11592396.html

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Katz must trim labour costs

Posted on January 25, 2010 by admin

Mayor Sam Katz says he has no plans to raise property taxes until the city has done everything it can to cut costs and reduce waste.

I’m glad he’s reiterating that publicly because we still hear from some quarters that city hall has already cut spending to the bone and has no choice but to increase taxes.

“From the city’s point of view, we still have work to do in-house where I think we can do things better, we can save money in certain areas, we can be more efficient,” Katz said this week during an editorial board meeting with the Winnipeg Sun. “I always said when we have that in order then I will look at property taxes.”

It’s a myth that city hall has cut spending to the bone. The city has made some cuts but spending is still wildly out of control in some areas, including labour costs. City hall’s single biggest expense is labour costs. Salaries and benefits made up 53% of total costs at the city last year, according to the city’s 2008 annual report. Despite claims by some city officials and councillors that city hall is doing everything possible to contain costs, those labour costs have skyrocketed over the past five years.

In 2003, the average number of employees at the city was 8,385, costing taxpayers $465 million in salaries and benefits. In 2004, the year Katz became mayor — albeit halfway through the year — that number jumped to 8,788 employees at a cost of $496 million.

The size of the workforce continued to grow over the next two years and by 2006 there were 8,836 employees at a cost of $531 million. The average number of employees began to fall somewhat after that, but costs didn’t.

By 2008, there was an average of 8,402 employees. But total salaries and benefits soared to a staggering $565 million. That’s where costs are out of control. And that’s where Katz and city council have to get their act together before they can even talk about raising property taxes.

Labour costs have grown by $100 million over five years. That’s a 21% increase, or twice the rate of inflation. It’s completely unacceptable. Most city workers, including middle managers, are represented by one of eight unions. Trouble is, the city refuses to negotiate aggressively during labour talks and agrees to contracts that drive up employee costs at twice the rate of inflation.

“When you look at anytime we renew any agreements, they exceed inflation,” Katz confirmed.

But when is the last time we’ve seen the city really take on the unions during collective bargaining, like the city of Toronto did this year?

We want labour peace, but not at any cost. We certainly can’t have taxpayers shelling out 21% increases over five years for salaries and benefits.

So I agree with Katz, the city still has some work to do before it can say it has no other recourse but to raise property taxes.

Which is why Katz, when asked, says he has no plans to jack up rates next year.

“Are you asking me if I intend to specifically support increasing taxes? No, I haven’t landed on that at this stage in the game,” said Katz.

“Is it a possibility? Yes, but I’m definitely not there at this stage in the game.”

My bet is he won’t be come 2010.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/2009/10/28/11551721.html#/news/columnists/tom_brodbeck/2009/10/28/pf-11548351.html

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Calgary mayor wants more funds for snow removal

Posted on December 4, 2009 by admin

CALGARY – After his 11-kilometre morning commute to City Hall took an hour longer than normal today, Mayor Dave Bronconnier said Calgary needs a bigger fleet to handle wintry roads.

The mayor said he’ll push for a “few extra million dollars” for snow removal when council adjusts the 2010 budget next month. But in a year where council already has to cut deeply to balance its finances, he wouldn’t say whether that money should come from additional service cuts elsewhere, or additioanl property taxes.

Despite perennial surveys saying Calgarians want better snow-removal service but don’t want to pay more for it, Bronconnier said the “cost is well worth the additional benefit.

“Even if it’s (to save) 10, 15, 20 minutes of your commute time, I look at that at money well invested,” he told reporters after giving the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada a white-hat welcome.

Commuting delays mean losses for business, and parents often have to pay penalties for arriving late at daycares, the mayor said.

He credited the city’s more than 70 salting and grading trucks for hitting the road by 4 a.m. “The repoonse is adequate for the material and personnel we have,” he said.

Next month, aldermen will debate a 2010 budget that features a property-tax increase of 6.1 per cent, although officials are trying to lower that to 5.3 per cent, the level of last year’s hike.

Neither figure includes money for better winter-road clearing.

Bronconnier again floated the idea of sub-contracting private trucks, a potentially costly initiative in a city that doesn’t see as much snow as others in Canada.

Right now, some drivers can barely even get out of their own communities, he said. It took the mayor about 40 minutes just to clear out of his neighbourhood.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Mayor+more+funds+snow+removal/2097346/story.html