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x As the saying goes, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

After hours spent debating how to shift taxes around from one budget line to another, desperately avoiding the real problem, it’s clear city hall is still in denial.

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At the heart of council’s budget debate is a supposed $250-million ‘hole’ in the city’s budget due to the collapsing property values in the downtown core.

You might think the rational response to a drop in revenue would be to reduce expenses — that’s what many Calgary businesses and families were forced to do during the downturn.

But, that’s not how city hall works.

Council operates what it calls a ‘revenue-neutral budget’ where if property values ever go down, our tax rates automatically go up to compensate, ensuring the City never has a budget deficit.

Council planned to just rely on businesses in surrounding communities to make up the shortfall while waiting for the economy to recover.