{
  "id": 5605405,
  "title": "Special city council meeting called over leak of confidential Calgary budget docs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/special-city-council-meeting-called-over-leak-of-confidential-calgary",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T17:34:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Global News",
    "slug": "global-news-globalnews",
    "url": "https://globalnews.ca/news/12047944/calgary-city-council-budget-document-leak-meeting/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A special city council meeting has been convened in Calgary due to the leak of confidential and preliminary budget documents. The documents revealed a substantial property tax increase would be necessary to accommodate all spending requests in the upcoming four-year budget. During a closed-door session on July 28, city council instructed administration to reduce the requests and present an updated budget scenario later in the month, with a projected 15% property tax increase in 2027. Mayor Jeromy Farkas clarified that the figures are merely a \"wishlist\" and that no decisions have been made about the proposed tax hike. Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston admitted to leaking the information, leading to a debate between him and the mayor. Following the incident, Farkas called for a special meeting of council to receive legal advice regarding the unauthorized disclosure of 2027-2030 budget cycle information. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning, following a busy Executive Committee meeting where councillors will need to endorse an option for the downtown leg of the Green Line LRT project.",
  "summary": "Preliminary budget documents obtained by Global News show a large property tax increase would be required to pay for the funding requests in front of Calgary city council.",
  "key_points": [
    "Special city council meeting convened in Calgary.",
    "Confidential budget documents leaked, revealing tax hike.",
    "Mayor calls for meeting to discuss legal implications."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Global News",
        "title": "Special city council meeting called over leak of confidential Calgary budget docs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/special-city-council-meeting-called-over-leak-of-confidential-calgary-5610910",
        "published": "2026-09-04T17:34:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}