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Calgary mayor claims confidential budget docs show ‘wishlist’ as whistleblower revealed

From Global News · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Ongoing story
  • Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said preliminary spending requests represent a “wishlist,” not a proposed property-tax increase.
  • Leaked documents indicated that meeting every request could require a 20.2% tax increase in 2027 and further increases through 2030.
  • Councillor Landon Johnston disputed the mayor’s characterization after admitting he leaked the confidential documents.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the city’s preliminary spending requests amount to a “wishlist,” but leaked budget documents show that approving them all could require a 20.2% property-tax increase next year.

The confidential documents, obtained by Global News, said the city would need an additional $510 million in operating spending to cover every request from city departments and partners. They projected property-tax increases of 8.5% in 2028, 9% in 2029 and 8.9% in 2030 if council approved the full package this fall.

Council directed the administration to narrow the requests within a 15% tax increase in 2027, followed by increases of 12.5% in 2028, 9% in 2029 and 6% in 2030. Updated figures are due to be presented to council during a closed session on Sept. 22.

This is a wishlist. Everybody comes out of the woodwork around budget time and asks for all of the stuff

· Jeromy FarkasCalgary’s mayor described the spending requests as preliminary demands rather than an adopted tax plan.

Farkas said council had not adopted any tax increase, or even a proposed increase. He said his priorities were infrastructure and public safety, and argued that departments routinely ask for everything during budget season. “This is a wishlist. Everybody comes out of the woodwork around budget time and asks for all of the stuff,” Farkas told reporters.

The documents also listed requests that had already been considered and endorsed by council, including $44.3 million for sustainable infrastructure maintenance funding, $16.9 million for more Transit Peace Officers, $20 million for RouteAhead service frequency, $27.5 million for the low-income transit pass, $28 million to replace lost photo-radar fine revenue and $25.1 million for the Safer Together plan. Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston rejected the mayor’s description, saying, “That’s not a wishlist, that’s a council that has trouble saying no.” Johnston became central to the fallout after admitting on social media that he leaked the confidential documents.

That’s not a wishlist, that’s a council that has trouble saying no

· Landon JohnstonThe Ward 14 councillor challenged Farkas’s characterization of the requests.
About this summary

Originally published by Global News. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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