Calgarians Deserve Better Value for Their Tax Dollars…
At the doors, I’m hearing growing frustration from residents about rising property taxes without matching improvements in city services. People understand costs rise, but they can’t accept paying more while seeing little return in their neighbourhoods. Whether it’s road maintenance, transit, parks, or essential services like police and fire, many feel they’re getting less for more — and that’s simply not fair. Efficiencies and common-sense spending are needed now more than ever to ensure every tax dollar delivers real value to Calgarians.
All large organizations—whether in the private or public sector—tend to grow more complex and bureaucratic over time. Layers of policies, procedures, and oversight are added year after year, often with little review or reassessment. Innovation gets stifled. Administrative bloat increases. And the ratio of support staff to front-line service providers grows steadily.
While private companies routinely conduct efficiency reviews to cut costs, governments rarely do—and when they do, cost efficiency is seldom the focus.
The City of Calgary employs approximately 16,000 people, including the Calgary Police Service. That’s a large and complex operation, and ensuring efficient service delivery is essential. But when you take a closer look at our support departments, some red flags appear:
Human Resources (HR):
Approximately 300 employees, costing taxpayers $37 million per year. That’s 1 HR staff member for every 50 employees.
In the private sector, the benchmark for an organization of this size would be closer to
1 HR staff per 160 employees, or roughly 100 HR staff total.
Information Technology (IT):
Approximately 450 employees, with a yearly cost of $60 million. That’s 1 IT staff member for every 35 employees. The private sector average would suggest a staffing level of about 150 IT employees.
These gaps raise serious questions. Why is Calgary’s public administration so out of line with private sector standards? What efficiencies are being missed? And most importantly: Why hasn’t this been seriously addressed?
In 2020 the City of Calgary did run a pilot program called SAVE and while efficiencies within departments were identified (unlocking approximately $80 million in operational savings), the program does not appear to have continued. That was a missed opportunity.
It’s time to change that.
Every dollar saved from administrative excess is a dollar that can be reinvested into frontline services—fire, police, roads, parks, and community programs that Calgarians actually rely on.
As your next City Councillor, I’ll fight to bring accountability and common sense back to City Hall. That starts with asking the hard questions—and demanding better value for your tax dollars.