Finance Minister Joe Ceci says he won't prejudge discussions on new taxing powers for Calgary and Edmonton as he takes over the responsibility for city charters.

Premier Rachel Notley handed Ceci the file on city charters — which the NDP government hopes to have in place later this year — in Thursday's mini cabinet shuffle.

Ceci told Postmedia Friday he knows the province's two biggest cities have issues have a need for stable, predictable funding but the former Ward 9 alderman for Calgary was non-committal on taxing powers.

"Those things will be discussed at the table. Rather than prejudging where things are going to go, I'm going to go into this with the interests of a former city councillor and a current finance minister of the province," said Ceci, the MLA for Calgary-Fort.

"I look forward to getting together with both mayors soon."

City charters are documents that are intended to give new powers and responsibilities to Calgary and Edmonton. The mayors of each city — Naheed Nenshi and Don Iveson — have said their municipalities need increased revenue and greater power over their finances, although that doesn't necessarily mean new powers to tax beyond property tax.

Nenshi, in Ottawa for a meeting of Canada's big-city mayors,said Friday he had spoken to Ceci and new NDP Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson shortly after the cabinet shuffle.

He said he's encouraged that Ceci has been given the city charter file as the fiscal framework for municipalities is the major area left for discussion.

"Finance has to be intimately involved in that so I'm taking it as a sign that they're being very serious — by putting him there — about a brand new fiscal framework," said Nenshi.

The mayor reiterated however that he expects any new taxing powers to be minimal, such as a revamped hotel tax or vehicle fees for road maintenance.

But Wildrose finance critic Derek Fildebrandt is concerned about the implications of Ceci's appointment and said there should be no taxing powers for cities without approval through a referendum.

"As the minister of finance, Joe Ceci has shown no hesitancy towards any number of new taxes, and as a city councillor ... he was enthusiastic for new taxes at every possible opportunity," he said.

Fildebrandt also took aim at the NDP government's consultations for its March provincial budget, which continued Friday in Calgary.

He said the invite-only events mean that the government is unlikely to hear opposing viewpoints such as calls for real fiscal restraint to reduce a deficit currently estimated at more than $10 billion.

Representatives from more than 40 non-profits, social agencies and businesses met with Ceci at McDougall Centre.

Following the meeting, the minister said the participants fully understood the fiscal challenges faced by the government, which has seen its bottom line hammered by low oil prices over its first year-and-a-half in office.

Their response of those in the room, he said, is that the government needs to be innovative in how it delivers services.

"I think we should undertake that challenge. So it's going to mean asking questions that are perhaps more uncomfortable — does this have to be done by government or can it be done elsewhere by someone else in a different way and Albertans still get the benefit of quality service deliver?" said Ceci.

With files from Chris Varcoe and Dylan Robertson

jwood@postmedia.com