Tough budget choices ahead for Edmonton city councillors

Big shiny blockbuster project, or decent roads and basic services? This is the question council will have to answer before they can approve the capital budget for 2015 to 2018.

Coun. Mike Nickel said the city has been spent into a corner by the previous council, leaving very little money leftover.

Many projects won’t make the cut

On Tuesday and Wednesday, councillors will get their first chance to ask questions about the proposed budget, which includes a 5.3 per cent tax increase and $442.9 million in new debt.

City staff prepared a list of 29 priority projects, out of about 190 eligible for capital funding in this budget. Of those, about 15 are likely to come to fruition.

​Some highly anticipated projects are not on that priority list, including a new high quality bike lane on 102nd Avenue and a recreation centre in Lewis Estates.

Both those projects have been flagged by councillors as ones that should be included in budget deliberations.

Meanwhile, many projects at the top of the list are intended to accommodate Edmonton’s growth, including a new fire station in the city’s North East and a new records management system to help police keep track of the growing amount of data they’re collecting.

Councillors have until the beginning of December to agree how their relatively sparse capital dollars will be spent.

Federal grant could give some relief

On Wednesday council will debate which major project it will use to apply money from the Federal Government’s Building Canada Fund.

The federal government has made $14 billion available to support projects that promote economic growth and job creation. The money will go toward paying for one-third of the selected projects. City staff put six options on the table for consideration:

1. LRT expansion
2. Yellowhead Trail Improvements ($687 million)
3. Flood mitigation program ($2.4 billion)
4. Fort Edmonton Park utility infrastructure upgrades ($61.8 million)
5. Railway/roadway infrastructure ($152 million)
6. Edmonton Energy and Technology Park Infrastructure ($100 million)

Right now, most of these are not up for funding in the upcoming budget talks, but they are all on the city’s radar as priority projects.

​The councillors’ decision about which projects should get federal funding will give some insight about their priorities, as budget talks get underway.

For the next several weeks, we’ll be taking a break from posting the "Three things to watch at city hall" column each Monday in favour of updates on the ongoing budget talks.

How do you think council should spend the money this budget? Tweet @LauraOsmanCBC or post a comment below.