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Municipal Politics

From the City of Edmonton:

In the fall of 2023, City Council approved a tax subclass that was implemented in 2024. The subclass addresses derelict residential properties in mature areas, as part of a larger effort to combat problem properties and encourage community vibrancy.

The Derelict Residential Tax Subclass allows the City to charge a separate tax rate for properties meeting the definition of “derelict.” In 2024, the derelict tax rate was approximately three times higher than the normal residential tax rate.

A derelict property must be assessed according to the structural condition of the home on the property. If the home shows serious signs of neglect, is falling into significant disrepair, or is unlivable or abandoned, it can fall under the subclass.

The City is conducting this survey to gauge Edmontonians’ awareness of, and opinions about derelict properties and the tax subclass.

Sharable Link
 
This nut makes it look YYC is an island onto itself. "YYC is the economic engine of the entire country." She's complaining about the UCP unfair tax shake down, maybe if she played nice with Sohi - the 2 of them might have more power together against the UCP than as one.
calgaryherald.com

Gondek calls out province and feds for offloading costs onto Calgarians amid affordability crisis

In a defiant speech to the city's business leaders, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek vowed to continue fighting for Calgarians.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com
 
policyenthusiast said:
From the City of Edmonton:

In the fall of 2023, City Council approved a tax subclass that was implemented in 2024. The subclass addresses derelict residential properties in mature areas, as part of a larger effort to combat problem properties and encourage community vibrancy.

The Derelict Residential Tax Subclass allows the City to charge a separate tax rate for properties meeting the definition of “derelict.” In 2024, the derelict tax rate was approximately three times higher than the normal residential tax rate.

A derelict property must be assessed according to the structural condition of the home on the property. If the home shows serious signs of neglect, is falling into significant disrepair, or is unlivable or abandoned, it can fall under the subclass.

The City is conducting this survey to gauge Edmontonians’ awareness of, and opinions about derelict properties and the tax subclass.

Sharable Link
Click to expand...

I filled out the survey to let them know that the Derelict Residential Tax Subclass has proven to be a success for neighborhoods adjacent to Alberta Ave but is useless for derelict properties in the downtown core such as Dwayne's Home.
 
Gronk! said:
I filled out the survey to let them know that the Derelict Residential Tax Subclass has proven to be a success for neighborhoods adjacent to Alberta Ave but is useless for derelict properties in the downtown core such as Dwayne's Home.
Click to expand...
My personal take was that derelict commercial properties should be assessed under the subclass, not just properties in mature residential neighborhoods.
 
I feel like derelict commercial is a far bigger issue than residential. Maybe not in places like Alberta Ave and surrounding neighbourhoods, but going around the city I feel like I see a lot more abandoned stripmalls and CRU's than houses / apartments. A bit puzzled as to why this is targeting residential and not commercial.
 
erudyk_29 said:
I feel like derelict commercial is a far bigger issue than residential. Maybe not in places like Alberta Ave and surrounding neighbourhoods, but going around the city I feel like I see a lot more abandoned stripmalls and CRU's than houses / apartments. A bit puzzled as to why this is targeting residential and not commercial.
Click to expand...
My guess is that both the residential-only targeting and small-ish initial group of properties identified as derelict are because it's the first year this bylaw is in effect, and they want to start small to test uptake and public response. I've heard only opinions supporting the bylaw so far, and I think expanding it is the right way to go.
 
edmonton.taproot.news

Calls for public engagement: 99 Street rezoning, derelict property taxes

Here are opportunities to inform municipal decisions about rezoning, problem properties, neighbourhood renewal, and more. Please only answer surveys from the municipality where you live.
edmonton.taproot.news edmonton.taproot.news

 
"They're also asking us to invest close to a billion dollars in downtown that we don't have," Sohi said.

"If they want us to be disciplined, which we are, then they also need to stop asking for additional investments into areas that are non-essential at this time."

edmonton.ctvnews.ca

Business groups put pressure on city to find savings during budget adjustment

As city council prepares to talk about the budget – and next year's property tax increase – local business groups say they're here to help address Edmonton's slumping finances.
edmonton.ctvnews.ca edmonton.ctvnews.ca

The only thing in the Downtown Investment Plan being asked for in this budget is to keep the cleaning budget for Downtown, which is I believe $3m over 3 years or something. Either Sohi didn't read the plan or is playing politics. Everything else is capital budget, CRL or requires lobbying of other orders of government.
 
Here's the problem that I have with this plan:

The group said it presented the city with "actionable" ways to improve the city's financial situation. Those include cuts to non-essential services, though the group didn't want to offer specifics, as well as a sizable cash injection for the downtown core.
Click to expand...

If you do not, or cannot, "offer specifics", your plan is not helpful. Identify exactly what you consider to be worth cutting, and then we can debate it.
 
Sorry the plan I'm referring to is the DRC's Downtown Investment Plan when it comes to Sohi's comments are directly related to that.

In terms of cuts, ya some people have suggested a few things but they also said they don't want to get too specific to constrain Council's hands. It's a balancing act.

Here's one as an example,
https://twitter.com/x/status/1862204874613473304
 
Gus Haynes said:
Here's the problem that I have with this plan:



If you do not, or cannot, "offer specifics", your plan is not helpful. Identify exactly what you consider to be worth cutting, and then we can debate it.
Click to expand...
There are quite a lot of opportunities to add more clarity to the plan. For example, one recommendation is:

"Invest $34 million in the Winspear Expansion Project, a 215,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art cultural attraction dedicated to music."

But straight from the Expansion Project webpage:

"In addition to the generous funding provided by the City of Edmonton, the Province of Alberta, and the Government of Canada, this Capital Campaign aims to raise the final $12M required for the Winspear Centre expansion project. You are key to making this vision a reality."

Where is the $24,000,000 difference going? Maybe an explanation of how the proposed budgets were drafted is needed for this to get any traction.
 
^I think the $34m reflects the number recently added to the CRL and from the province in the last budget. $12m is probably the number required still from private fundraising. I do not recall the total project cost at this time, someone else might.

" $8.5 million for the expansion and renovation of the Winspear Centre"


EDIT: $34m was the request to the Province in the last budget (see DIP says 'Province' as funding source). Since then they got $8.5m, donations and made some cuts. I think what still left is $12m.
 
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