Property taxes fund about half of the City’s operating budget. This chart shows tax-supported expenditures for each major category for the 2025 Operating Budget.
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) provides for protection of life and property, preservation of public peace, prevention and detection of crime, and regulation of noncriminal conduct as required by law. EPS provides community policing, crime prevention, victim support, traffic safety/enforcement and many other services.
The City also collects transit fares to help pay for Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) operations.
Debt repayment is the interest the City pays for money it has borrowed to help finance some capital projects.
Parks and Roads Services maintains and operates infrastructure like roadways, sidewalks, bike lanes, street lights, bridges and safe mobility programs. This includes snow clearing and street sweeping. They also maintain 400,000 trees, 980 parks, turf and sports fields, playgrounds, over 225,000 shrub beds and manage pest control.
General Expenses include automated enforcement costs, capital project financing costs, corporate insurance and other corporate-wide expenditures.
The City uses some of the money it collects from taxes to help pay for capital projects. This money, along with revenue from things like investment earnings, is called Pay as You Go funding, which helps to reduce the amount of debt needed to fund capital projects.
Support Services keep the City’s programs and services running smoothly. Support services include the 311 call centre, bill payments and bookkeeping, purchasing and warehousing, communication and engagement, employee safety and staff recruitment.
Fire Rescue protects life, property and the environment. It provides internationally recognized frontline fire rescue services, fire prevention programs and public education, making the city a safer and healthier place.
Community, Recreation and Neighbourhood Services include attractions, recreation centres, festivals, bylaw enforcement and more. It creates connected, clean, safe and livable urban spaces.
Planning and Development includes the work of ensuring the city grows in a planned and strategic way. It also includes the work to build a great city — from planning, to design, to delivering and maintaining infrastructure like roads, bridges, LRT, recreation centres, fire halls, police stations and libraries.
Neighbourhood Renewal renews and rebuilds roads, sidewalks and street lights in neighbourhoods and collector roadways. The program is paid for through a combination of property taxes and cost-sharing with property owners for specific neighbourhood local improvements.
There are external organizations and civic agencies that receive funding from the City. The external organizations included in this funding are the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, Edmonton Heritage Council and Telus World of Science. The civic agencies included in this funding are the Edmonton Arts Council, Edmonton Combative Sports Commission, Edmonton Unlimited, Explore Edmonton, Fort Edmonton Park, GEF Seniors Housing and REACH Edmonton.
Fleet and Facility Services maintains over 5,000 fleet vehicles and equipment, more than 900 City-owned buildings and over 700 other amenities in public spaces across the city, including spray decks and splash pads.
Social Development addresses poverty elimination, affordable housing, community development, homelessness and social services.
Governance and oversight includes the work of developing, implementing and aligning the strategic priorities of the corporation and Council. This is led by the City Manager and City Council. Governance and oversight also includes democratic functions, auditing, legal, risk and security services.
Edmonton Public Library is the city’s largest lender of information and entertainment. Library cards are free to all Edmontonians and there are 21 branches across the city.