Scarlett Presley

Councillor Pantazopoulos needs to decide who he works for: the bureaucracy or Calgarians. If he wants to run to be mayor next term, he has to answer that question fast. He fought hardest against the government employee disclosure list and is now opposing basic financial transparency. When public-sector unions and administrators push back against sunlight, the pattern is clear: protect the machine, not the people paying for it. Basic economics is not complicated. When taxpayers and businesses leave for greener grass, the tax base shrinks. That means less money for infrastructure and less capacity to fund the vanity projects he supports. His vote against a modest 2.4% reduction across five departments last November is what prompted a closer look at how the money is actually spent. Getting data from a single department took months. What turned up shows that far more than 2.4% can be cut without touching frontline services. That is not speculation; it is what the partial records already reveal. A one-time $100,000 and a 150K annual review of a multi-billion-dollar operating budget is cheap insurance before Council locks in a four-year plan that will raise property taxes and utility rates for families and businesses. Livestreamed meetings and published votes provide process transparency. They let the public watch Council debate administration’s summaries. They do not replace Council actually seeing the line items so it can ask better questions and direct limited dollars to the highest priorities. If the current materials were sufficient to identify savings, the non-priority spending already visible in the partial data would not have stood out so clearly. Rejecting a line-by-line view means heading into budget deliberations with incomplete evidence. Taxpayers in Ward 6 and across Calgary will live with the consequences if Council approves spending requests it has not fully scrutinized.

Council vote recap | October 27, 2026 Here’s a breakdown of selected motions and how Council voted. 1. Glacier Ridge growth — GA2026-009 Approve the growth application, with operating funding in the 2028 budget adjustments and future investments considered through subsequent budgets. Carried 9–6 For: Johnston, Wyness, Kelly, McLean, Dhaliwal, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward, Chabot. Against: Yule, Schmidt, Pantazopoulos, Atkinson, Clark, Mayor Farkas. 2. Belvedere growth — GA2026-010 Approve the growth application, with operating funding in the 2028 budget adjustments and future investments considered through subsequent budgets. Carried 11–4 For: Johnston, Wyness, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, McLean, Clark, Dhaliwal, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward, Chabot. Against: Yule, Schmidt, Atkinson, Mayor Farkas. 3. Glacier Ridge growth — GA2026-011 Approve a separate Glacier Ridge growth application, with operating funding in the 2028 budget adjustments and future investments considered through subsequent budgets. Carried 9–6 For: Johnston, Wyness, Kelly, McLean, Dhaliwal, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward, Chabot. Against: Yule, Schmidt, Pantazopoulos, Atkinson, Clark, Mayor Farkas. 4. Water utility rates Approve 2027–2030 water, wastewater and stormwater rate increases and full cost recovery, with further analysis of alternative rate structures. Carried 9–6 For: Yule, Schmidt, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, Atkinson, Clark, Dhaliwal, Chabot, Mayor Farkas. Against: Johnston, Wyness, McLean, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward. 5. Waste and recycling rates Approve proposed 2027–2030 rates and charges, with related budgets and bylaw amendments returning to Council in November 2026. Carried 14–1 For: Yule, Schmidt, Wyness, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, Atkinson, McLean, Clark, Dhaliwal, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward, Chabot, Mayor Farkas. Against: Johnston. 6. Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw Adopt amendments strengthening intervention for threatening or aggressive animals, owner accountability and penalties. Carried 15–0 For: All 15 Council members. Against: None. 7. Bearspaw feeder main review spending Make review-panel expenditure totals and specified information from the CAO’s earlier update public, while keeping closed-meeting discussions confidential. Carried 15–0 For: All 15 Council members. Against: None. 8. Procurement transparency Develop a searchable public webpage or dashboard for eligible City contracts, with an implementation plan returning in Q2 2027. Carried 15–0 For: All 15 Council members. Against: None. 9. National Music Centre — postponement Postpone consideration of the loan-guarantee motion to January 26, 2027. This vote was on postponement—not approval of a loan guarantee. Carried 11–4 For postponement: Yule, Schmidt, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, Atkinson, McLean, Clark, Dhaliwal, Jamieson, Chabot, Mayor Farkas. Against postponement: Johnston, Wyness, Tyers, Ward. 10. E-mobility framework Request a report by Q1 2027 on potential e-mobility rules, device definitions and where devices can be used. Carried 15–0 For: All 15 Council members. Against: None. 11. Proposed on-street bike lane pause Pause new on-street bike lanes that remove travel lanes or reduce parking pending provincial legislative direction, while continuing pathway and other eligible projects. Defeated 5–10 For: Johnston, McLean, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward. Against: Yule, Schmidt, Wyness, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, Atkinson, Clark, Dhaliwal, Chabot, Mayor Farkas. 12. Underpass safety My motion to develop a strategy addressing drivers stopping beneath bridges and overpasses during hailstorms and severe weather. Carried 15–0 For: All 15 Council members. Against: None. 13. Transit fare strategy Pause fare-strategy public engagement until after the Q2 2027 committee meeting, with updated analysis, fare options and reporting to follow. Carried 13–2 For: Johnston, Yule, Schmidt, Wyness, Pantazopoulos, Kelly, McLean, Clark, Dhaliwal, Tyers, Jamieson, Ward, Mayor Farkas. Against: Atkinson, Chabot.

Tough day to be a tax/rate payer. Council is advancing water rate hikes of up to 74% for homeowners and 95% for businesses by 2030. When governments raise taxes and rates instead of cutting non-essential spending, those costs get passed straight through to customers. Higher utility bills raise the cost of living, push up prices for goods and services, and fuel inflation, even at the municipal level. Infrastructure is a core need. Terrible governance from the past council shouldn't fall on current tax-payers. Funding infrastructure by shaking down taxpayers and businesses while non-priority spending continues is just as a terrible choice as not funding in the first place.