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Calgarians could see their property taxes increase by more than three per cent annually in the next four-year budget, or face cuts to municipal services as the city struggles to balance the books.

Last April, council approved a potential tax hike in 2019 that would amount to a $49 to $64 annual increase for the average homeowner; subsequent tax hikes of between 2.5 and three per cent between 2020 and 2022 were also approved.

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But city administration said Wednesday it won’t be able to meet all the priorities identified by council for the next four years under the proposed tax rates.

“It actually means service cuts,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Wednesday.

“It means that we can’t invest in the things that we want to invest in and, on the capital side, it means we can’t build the things that people are asking us to build.”

Among the things putting pressure on municipal budgets is a recent council decision to significantly increase spending on snow and ice clearing; Nenshi said a boost to snow clearing could require an increase in property taxes of up to two per cent annually.

Putting further pressure on municipal books is an estimated $4.5 billion in unfunded capital projects that come as the Alberta government has dialed back municipal grants and capital expenditures; the $4.5 billion figure did not include spending estimates related to hosting the 2026 Olympics.

Nenshi said council will have to make a decision in the fall whether to increase property taxes or cut services, but added that polls show Calgarians support increased spending in areas such as transit and snow removal.