The Red Deer District Chamber is calling on The City to immediately reduce tax supported Operational expenses by 3 per cent following the release of the draft City of Red Deer 2025 Budget.
“We have looked closely at The City’s financial position for 2025 and believe it is essential to consider further expense reductions alongside property tax increases.” says Red Deer District Chamber CEO, Scott Robinson. “The City of Red Deer faces a significant deficit, as revenues have fallen short of expenses over the past few years. While we agree that The City must address this imbalance and reduce its reliance on reserves and utility dividends to balance the budget, we believe that the full financial burden should not fall solely on taxpayers and property owners.”
Through a recent survey, 51.61% of respondents wanted to see The City implement alternative ways of doing business to reduce deficit. When asked how a potential double digit tax increase would impact their businesses, 64.29% of respondents said that this would result in significantly increased operating costs.
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Respondents felt that a double-digit tax increase would not result in a sustainable financial solution for The City of Red Deer, and that the overwhelmingly best option for The City to explore for the 2025 Budget and beyond, was cost cutting and efficiency measures being implemented within City departments.
“We believe a balanced approach is both reasonable and necessary. By reducing operational expenses by three per cent, The City could save taxpayers approximately $9-10 Million, which would, in turn, make any necessary tax increase more manageable this budget year.” added Robinson.
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