Municipal Politics

[David A]

Budget 2025: Explore Edmonton asks city for $6M or won't run Expo centre and convention centre

CEO Traci Bednard told council Explore Edmonton has already significantly cut funding and can't trim any further without impacts.

edmontonjournal.com

These problems that seem to keep randomly or chaotically popping up make we wonder how well the city budget process is being managed.

In any event, another problem for a city that already has more than enough budget problems. Maybe it is time to look at having someone else, a private operator, run things instead.

 

[MacLac]

I am not a basher of our city police force but geez! Consider my cop buddy who rakes in a cool $1000 bucks to walk the concourses of Rogers for hockey games/concerts. This on top of ridiculous mid 6 figure salary for doing sweet fuck all….his words…not mine….lol. Multiply that number at least 50 cops X how many events = a few million…..

 

[kcantor]

I am not a basher of our city police force but geez! Consider my cop buddy who rakes in a cool $1000 bucks to walk the concourses of Rogers for hockey games/concerts. This on top of ridiculous mid 6 figure salary for doing sweet fuck all….his words…not mine….lol. Multiply that number at least 50 cops X how many events = a few million…..

As far as I know, police in or at private events (from hockey games and concerts at Rogers Place to the Folk Festival) are paid by the venue or the promoter, not the EPS or the city (unless it's a city event in which case it's included in the event budget).

 

[kcantor]

Apologies for putting this in two threads but I think it's important for both:

Edmonton's Yellowhead Trail conversion cost increases by $105 million: city budget 2025

Edmonton has to pay $105 million more than expected for Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion, revealed during council's 2025 budget talks.

edmontonjournal.com

Sooo...

Bear with me here because from the City's perspective, this project is not 10% over budget as is being reported here (by the City???)..

The original formula was a 1/3 1/3 1/3 split between the City the Province and the Feds with each party committed to $241.6 million when the project was first approved in 2016.

In 2017 - less than two years later - the project cost was updated from that initial $724.8 million to approximately $1.0027 billi
n but the provincial and federal contributions remained at $241.6 million while Edmonton's contribution increasing to $519.5 million. At that point in time, while project costs had "only" increased by 38%, all of that increase was to be borne by the City which means that from the City's perspective, the project was then 115% over budget, not 38%.

We now see that the project is another 10% over the revised budget (which is another 15% over the original budget which should remain a fixed baseline) and counting at $1.1044 billion. However, the provincial and federal contributions still remain at a total of $483.2 million while Edmonton's contribution will now increase to a total of $625.2 million and counting.

Based on the City's original financial commitment of $241.6 million, this project is not 10% over budget as implied in the article, it is 159% over budget (115% in 2017 and another 44% as reported today).

And that 1/3 1/3 1/3 split is now roughly 22% 22% 56%.

It's projects like this and accounting/reporting like this that has placed the City in its current financial predicament.

 

[trevorhayden]

It should just be cancelled and money handed over for bike paths.

 

[husky]

Not talked about in the article: ECC's website shows they have ONE scheduled upcoming event for all of 2025. One. Obviously more events will be booked and posted, but that's a pretty bleak outlook regardless, so no kidding Explore Edmonton is asking for $6m, ECC must be bleeding money like crazy.

Can anybody speak to why ECC has been struggling so hard to book concerts since COVID? They had five concerts this whole year, meanwhile they used to sometimes have five shows a month. I know the world of concerts and touring has changed a lot but this is basically the only medium-large venue in the city for artists too big for Union Hall/Midway but not big enough for Rogers. Maybe it's time to explore leasing it to a private operator and see if they can better book the facility for concerts, conferences and events?

I think the flexibility of Rogers (can shrink the venue for smaller shows) likely has had an impact in addition to bands of that size not including Edmonton (and many other Canadian cities) in their tour schedules as frequently anymore.

 

[TAS]

Apologies for putting this in two threads but I think it's important for both:

Edmonton's Yellowhead Trail conversion cost increases by $105 million: city budget 2025

Edmonton has to pay $105 million more than expected for Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion, revealed during council's 2025 budget talks.

edmontonjournal.com

Sooo...

Bear with me here because from the City's perspective, this project is not 10% over budget as is being reported here (by the City???)..

The original formula was a 1/3 1/3 1/3 split between the City the Province and the Feds with each party committed to $241.6 million when the project was first approved in 2016.

In 2017 - less than two years later - the project cost was updated from that initial $724.8 million to approximately $1.0027 billi
n but the provincial and federal contributions remained at $241.6 million while Edmonton's contribution increasing to $519.5 million. At that point in time, while project costs had "only" increased by 38%, all of that increase was to be borne by the City which means that from the City's perspective, the project was then 115% over budget, not 38%.

We now see that the project is another 10% over the revised budget (which is another 15% over the original budget which should remain a fixed baseline) and counting at $1.1044 billion. However, the provincial and federal contributions still remain at a total of $483.2 million while Edmonton's contribution will now increase to a total of $625.2 million and counting.

Based on the City's original financial commitment of $241.6 million, this project is not 10% over budget as implied in the article, it is 159% over budget (115% in 2017 and another 44% as reported today).

And that 1/3 1/3 1/3 split is now roughly 22% 22% 56%.

It's projects like this and accounting/reporting like this that has placed the City in its current financial predicament.

Just to add more salt to the wound, primarily my own wounds, if this were the Deerfoot Trail, the entire project would be covered by the province. Calgary has all of the Deerfoot work covered including maintenance and snow removal. Meanwhile Edmontonians are on the hook for most of this project.

(Both cities have their ring roads covered by the province, but yellowhead gets less than 25% from the province vs. 100% for Deerfoot.)
That frees up a lot dollars for Calgary to spend on things like office building incentives etc or downtown renewal.

 

[TAS]

Fully agree. I emailed council asking them not to cut Neighbourhood Renewal funding.

Not sure if it will make a difference, but if enough people speak out in favour of maintaining funding it could have an impact.

According to Global News tonight, Sohi put a new motion forward today that no longer takes $15million out of neighbourhood renewal. He's still proposing reducing tax increase by 2% but money would come from different source. I haven't heard any other reports of that, however.

Also Coun. Principe put forward motion to take $67.5 million out of the $100 million 4 year bike expansion- essentially ending the 2025 and 2026 infrastructure plans.

Motion was defeated 7-4 with councillors Cartmell, Rice, and Rutherford supporting her motion.

Edit: I've read other news reports that say neighbourhhod renewal is still being cut in Sohi's proposal.

 

[jason403]

Hopefully with a new council being voted in, most new funding of bike paths will be stopped, and removal of bike lanes that have low use and have taken away from parking and additional lanes for traffic. The sad part will be the the costs incurred constructing a lot of these paths that continue to be unused, then the additional cost to remove them.

 

[TAS]

According to Global News tonight, Sohi put a new motion forward today that no longer takes $15million out of neighbourhood renewal. He's still proposing reducing tax increase by 2% but money would come from different source. I haven't heard any other reports of that, however.

Also Coun. Principe put forward motion to take $67.5 million out of the $100 million 4 year bike expansion- essentially ending the 2025 and 2026 infrastructure plans.

Motion was defeated 7-4 with councillors Cartmell, Rice, and Rutherford supporting her motion.

Edit: I've read other news reports that say neighbourhhod renewal is still being cut in Sohi's proposal.

In her closing remarks on her motion to cut active transportation funding, Principe oddly commented that if this $100 funding over 4 years resulted in a complete bike network, she would not even be putting this motion on the floor. But because it doesn't cover all areas of the city, she doesn't support it. Strange. Does she think Edmonton's 11,000+ kms of roads were built all at once? Was Rome built in a day? The point of this fund is to a accelerate the active transportation network by adding in missing links. If she wants a complete network by 2026, she should have proposed adding more money. But nice to know she, too, supports the idea of a city-wide network - she just has a funny way of showing it.

 

[bodsbods9090]

As far as I know, police in or at private events (from hockey games and concerts at Rogers Place to the Folk Festival) are paid by the venue or the promoter, not the EPS or the city (unless it's a city event in which case it's included in the event budget).

This. Ken is right.

 

[Kosy123]

Hopefully with a new council being voted in, most new funding of bike paths will be stopped, and removal of bike lanes that have low use and have taken away from parking and additional lanes for traffic. The sad part will be the the costs incurred constructing a lot of these paths that continue to be unused, then the additional cost to remove them.

K Doug Ford

 

[policyenthusiast]

Hopefully with a new council being voted in, most new funding of bike paths will be stopped, and removal of bike lanes that have low use and have taken away from parking and additional lanes for traffic. The sad part will be the the costs incurred constructing a lot of these paths that continue to be unused, then the additional cost to remove them.

That would not be a smart move.

 

[policyenthusiast]

According to Global News tonight, Sohi put a new motion forward today that no longer takes $15million out of neighbourhood renewal. He's still proposing reducing tax increase by 2% but money would come from different source. I haven't heard any other reports of that, however.

Also Coun. Principe put forward motion to take $67.5 million out of the $100 million 4 year bike expansion- essentially ending the 2025 and 2026 infrastructure plans.

Motion was defeated 7-4 with councillors Cartmell, Rice, and Rutherford supporting her motion.

Edit: I've read other news reports that say neighbourhhod renewal is still being cut in Sohi's proposal.

The "difference source" is EPCOR dividends and corporate spending. From Taproot:

• Edmonton city council continued its second day of budget deliberations on Dec. 3 as it worked to reduce the proposed 8.1% property tax increase for 2025. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi proposed reallocating funds from EPCOR dividends and corporate spending to reduce the property tax levy by about 2%, while also cutting funding for neighborhood renewal. Council heard that the Yellowhead Trail Conversion project is over budget by $105 million because of inflation. Despite the cost overruns, Sohi expects city council to continue funding the project, which he said is crucial for traffic safety and the movement of goods and services, adding he hopes the City can negotiate additional funding from the federal and provincial governments.

 

[David A]

K Doug Ford

I'm surprised Smith hasn't done this too, she seem to like telling all the Alberta provincial serfs (aka - schools, hospitals and municipalities) what to do.