City taxes headed higher, not lower
Posted Nov 23, 2011 7:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
By a vote of 12 to three, Calgary city council not only rejected a cut to the police budget but increased it by almost $5-million.
The bulk of the extra cash will be used to hire and train more officers.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi was among those who voted against the increase.
He was disappointed council didn’t go along with his suggestion to defer the police budget pending the outcome of talks with the province about getting more cash for policing.
The increase to the police budget pushes up the proposed 2012 tax hike from five to six per cent.
Ward 11 Alderman Brian Pincott tells 660News the final number could actually end up being even higher.
Pincott says he and several other members of council are not happy about proposed cuts to transit service and roads maintenance.
He says those budget envelopes could be boosted, because Calgarians don’t want city services reduced.
The budget debate is scheduled to wrap up on Friday.
