Councillors unanimously passed the 2017 budget on Monday with a promise to help Calgarians during tough economic times.

Members went back all the way to the 2014 budget that was crafted during an economic boom to come up with some changes.

Councillors approved a 1.5 percent hike in property taxes for the coming year, but it will be offset with a one-time 1.5 percent rebate, bringing the effective tax rate to zero. However, that is not good enough for some critics.

“Council has to better align the public sector wages, salaries and benefits to the private sector. Quite frankly, in Calgary we're experiencing a 19 per cent premium over what's reasonable in the private sector and that's simply unacceptable,” said Amber Ruddy, Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Council is talking about helping Calgary businesses after a warning was issued last week that businesses outside the downtown core should be ready for a dramatic rise in rates. 79 per cent of all businesses will see a hike, 21 per cent will see a cut and 41 per cent of those fluctuations will be within 10 per cent of last year's taxes. Council is considering using $15 million from a reserve fund to help businesses facing a big increase rather than make any more cuts.

“There's been $118 million in efficiencies above that this council has managed to find,” said Andre Chabot, Ward 10 Councillor. “In light of the fact that we have contract negotiations underway including a 4 per cent increase this year, I think to cut it further would require us cutting services."

Another freeze in the budget involves fees for city services, including recreation fees, pet licensing and transit fees. There are also reductions planned for development fees, landfill fees, and the green cart fee as the city moves ahead with implementing the program citywide.

Some key capital projects, aimed at boosting economic growth, are also being discussed and the city is looking at spending money on improving McMahon Stadium and some other facilities for sports teams and entertainment.

The budget session will resume on Tuesday.