Calgary city council will take part in a special meeting behind closed doors to seek legal advice, after a trove of confidential and preliminary budget documents were obtained by Global News.
As first reported by Global News on Wednesday, the confidential documents showed a significant property tax increase would be required to cover all the spending requests in front of city council in the upcoming four-year budget.
“I have reasonable grounds to believe that a serious privacy breach may have occurred, posing potential safety risks to City personnel and significant financial or legal exposure,” Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas said in a statement posted online.
“The meeting will be held in order for council to hear immediate legal advice on the potential damage, our obligations, and what action is required to protect employees and taxpayers.”
The preliminary documents were presented to city council during a closed-door meeting July 28, in which city council directed administration to whittle down the requests and present an updated budget scenario later this month with a 15 per cent property tax increase in 2027.
Farkas said the figures are simply a “wishlist” and no decisions have been made regarding a property tax increase.
The release of the documents resulted a clash on Thursday between Farkas and Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston, after Johnston took to social media and claimed he leaked the information.
The situation has prompted Farkas to call a special meeting of council.
It will take place after the long weekend on Tuesday morning, following the start of a busy Executive Committee meeting in which city councillors will need to endorse an option for the downtown leg of the Green Line LRT project.
A notice sent to city councillors said the meeting to is to receive “legal advice regarding unauthorized disclosure of 2027-2030 budget cycle information.”
Farkas’ office declined an interview with Global News on Friday morning.
When asked about the meeting and the situation following the reporting of the details within the preliminary budget documents, Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson told Global News he feels it has become a distraction.
“It’s pulling a lot of attention and oxygen away from the things we need to be doing as a council, and pulling them towards a bit of a circus,” he said Friday.
“It’s not what I want to be focused on. I want to be focused on the governance of the city.”
As work continued at city hall, the release of the budget documents loomed over city councillors during a committee meeting Friday afternoon.
The committee, which is tasked with recruiting the city’s next chief administrative officer, was told to keep the names of candidates being discussed confidential, with the bulk of the meeting behind closed doors.
“It is absolutely imperative that you do not reveal any names, ever, during the course of the search,” said Lisa Kershaw with Boyden Canada, the firm hired to help with the recruitment.
“If you’re known as a leaky ship, you’re not going to get candidates. Candidates will withdraw, not apply, change their mind.”
Other councillors aren’t convinced there will be repercussions, as the council code of conduct was eliminated by the provincial government last year and is set to be eventually replaced with a provincewide one.
“As far as I know, at this time, there’s nothing that city council can possibly do on this,” said Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly.
“I’ll go to that meeting on Tuesday, listen and learn — but at the end of the day, I’m pretty confident this is not a city hall issue, this is would be a minister of municipal affairs issue.”
Global News reached out to the office of Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams for comment, but did not receive a response.
Calgary city council will deliberate the next four-year budget on Nov. 23 after the proposed spending plan is released publicly in early November.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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