Group wants municipalities to tie spending to population growth
Canada’s provincial and federal governments should freeze funding to municipalities at current levels until municipal governments rein in “excessive” spending according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). The recommendation comes as part of the CFIB’s Municipal Funding Watch report in which the business association compared cities’ spending increases to population growth.
The research says that between 2001 and 2012 cities across Canada collectively spent nearly $3 billion more than their population growth would justify.
Calgary’s population grew by 30 per cent between 2001 and 2012 however the report claims inflation-adjusted operating spending increased more than twice as much during the same period.
It attributes the cause of swelling budgets to higher municipal employee costs — saying salaries and benefits for City of Calgary staff account for 63 per cent of the city’s operational budget. The CFIB says Calgary municipal salaries are 11 per cent higher than private sector equivalent positions. It also says the increase in the number of municipal staff is out of line with private sector staff increases or population growth. Calgary’s spending has decreased slightly since 2011.
The CFIB has long called on cities to match spending increases to population growth. It also claims municipal governments penalize small and medium business with high taxes but offer relatively few business-oriented services in return.
