Annual Operating Variance & Timeline

Annual operating variance & timeline

When we spend less than we budget for or have higher revenue, we have a favourable operating variance. We keep a close eye on this and report it to Council regularly. Council can use these funds to support Calgarians, businesses and the community.

Managing our finances

We manage money carefully and responsibly. We follow the rules in the Municipal Government Act, City Charter and Council Policy guidelines. We only budget what's needed to run City services.

Timeline

Each year, we follow a process to notify Council and confirm our operating variance.

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March, June and September

Our quarterly progress reports contain an estimate of the operating variance for the current year.

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November

We share an updated estimate of the annual operating variance with Council during budget discussions. They use this information to decide if these funds should be used for one-time initiatives in next year’s budget.

2024 annual operating variance

The 2024 favourable operating variance is $276.3 million. This is 4.9 per cent of our total planned operating spend (after recoveries).

The variance came from:

  • Higher-than-expected revenue, including investment income.
  • Lower costs including lower employee benefit expenses.
  • The Downtown Conversion and Secondary Suite Initiatives now being funded federally by the Housing Accelerator Fund.
  • Other savings in departments like salaries or unfilled positions.

See the details in the Financial and Economic Update 2024 Year-End and 2025 Q1 Report.

Using the variance

Council decides what to do with these additional funds to support Calgarians. Here’s what this year’s variance will go towards:

* Uncommitted funds haven’t been allocated to a project or initiative. They will be transferred to the Fiscal Stability Reserve. 

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Investing for Calgarians

Council uses one-time funds from the operating variance to further support Calgarians, businesses and the community.

See our 2025 service investments
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