City hikes taxes on apartments; homeowners to see little change

A controversial proposal to start charging a $3 daily fee to park at LRT lots was shelved by city council on Tuesday.

And under 2009 rates approved by council, property taxes will reach new heights for Edmonton apartments this year, while most homeowners won't have to dig much deeper at all.

Officials wanted to impose a levy at the three LRT lots in northeast Edmonton --which are now free -- part of dozens of measures introduced to deal with a $35.1-million revenue shortfall caused mainly by the world economic meltdown.

But Coun. Kim Krushell argued the idea, expected to raise $440,000 this year, should be dropped because it could hurt ridership in an area where bus service to LRT stations is poor.

"My concern is that our LRT system is still a fledgling system compared to Toronto or Calgary, and Calgary just introduced their LRT lot fee."

Coun. Bryan Anderson worried about long delays as customers tried to buy parking tickets from vending machines during the rush hour at the packed Stadium, Belvedere and Clareview LRT station sites.

"I can see 15 people standing in line waiting to plug a parking meter in the morning in 50-60-klick winds, in the cold, and eventually saying, 'Screw this, I'm not going to do this anymore.' "

Coun. Jane Batty was the only councillor to support charging immediately, saying the fee and the transit fare would still cost commuters less than the price of parking downtown.

"The individuals who use the park-and-ride lots need to pay for them."

However, councillors approved a request by Mayor Stephen Mandel to have staff prepare a more in-depth plan for LRT parking fees to be considered during the 2010 budget debate.

Mandel said he's sympathetic to the idea, especially if bus service was improved and the parking lots sold for development.

"Service is what's going to draw people to use (LRT), not charging for parking or not charging for parking."

The fate of a second money-saving scheme, to reduce city costs $80,000 this year by closing the Scona pool as of July 1, will be considered later this spring once swim groups can discuss their options and a report on the 52-year-old facility's condition is completed.

Meanwhile, 2009 property taxes on the typical Edmonton walkup apartment suite are going up 23.9 per cent, or $131, compared to a virtually unchanged levy on the average single-family home when a waste utility rebate is included.

The difference is the result of property prices going in opposite directions -- the assessed value of apartments rose 9.1 per cent at the same time as the value of single-family homes dropped by roughly the same amount.

But homeowners don't get off scot-free. They face a $137 annual increase in fees because the entire cost of garbage collection and disposal is now on the utility bill, rather than being partly funded with tax money.

The rebate runs on a sliding scale intended to ensure that this year people won't pay more under the new system than they would have owed under the previous system.

Several councillors are concerned that apartment tenants, who are often directly responsible for utility charges, could be hit hard.

"Landlords in the past have not been benevolent in passing on rebates, and I don't expect much of a change this time," Coun. Ron Hayter said.

"That's what really bothers me most. The people who live in rental accommodations are those who will be hurt most by the recession."

Mandel asked for a report on how to better balance taxes between different types of property in future budgets, although he later told reporters the budget's impact on renters might be dampened by rising vacancy rates.

"People have a choice -- 'You're charging me too much, I'm going to move out.' "

Mandel was one of four council members to vote against the budget when it was approved last December, the strongest opposition in at least a generation.

But Mandel said he supported setting the final rates because they must be approved before tax notices can be sent out in May.

"I'm not voting for the budget today. I'm voting for the mill rate today ... the mill rate is a formality we have to have to finish up the package," he said.

"We could have been much more diligent as to how we spend money. There was a lot of smoke and mirrors."

The city's revenue from all classes of property, including commercial and industrial, is going up 7.3 per cent.

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

- Total 2009 property tax for average $361,500 single-family home (after waste-utility rebate): $2,189

- Increase from 2008: $7

- Increase in annual waste utility fee: $137 more, to a total $319

- Total municipal property taxes to collect: $764.3 million

- The actual size of tax hikes will vary between homes depending on whether their value changed more or less than the average 9.6-per-cent drop in Edmonton market assessments recorded last July 1

- Tax notices will be mailed out May 22. Payment is due June 30.