and raised erratic municipal taxes as the city struggles to secure funding for projects to maintain the city. Dave Bronconnier faced similar challenges as Nenshi managing a growing city. Nenshi is tasked with completion of Bronconnier's necessary projects such as extension of the C-train. However, Nenshi together with Stephen Mandel attempted to negotiate with Premier Alison Redford to enact a charter to replace the decades-old ambiguous Municipal Act, to better define the roles of provincial and municipal governments. As the uncertain nature of non-municipal funding is unpredictable. Redford was forced to resort to Austerity measures such as educational cutbacks early in her term. Her government is experiencing a 5-year deficit, and will go into debt as it continues infrastructural spending. Nenshi stated that taxes remained the lowest in Canada when compared to other major Canadian municipalities. However, during Nenshi's two terms in office, median property taxes were increased by 52% between 2010 and 2016. Taxation of second term For the 2014 budget the city voted to return the initial $52 million provincial tax refund as debated early in 2012. The refunded tax gap afforded the city to reduce an initial planned 6% increase in residential property tax to a 5% increase. In December 2013, Nenshi warned of prospective tax raises of 5% over the next four-year budget. He suggested that the best way to avoid or mitigate the increases was to implement a policy diversified sources of funding besides property taxes. Nenshi disfavours property tax as being archaic and unable to effectively collect revenue for capital civil works such as upgrading transportation. He favours a mixture of sources such as business taxes. Nenshi states that currently only the province have the authority to enact legislature that fundamentally defines sources of revenue. Nenshi and his Edmontonian mayor counterparts Stephen Mandel and Don Iveson have been negotiating with the Albertan government to enact a city charter. The charter would clarify the responsibilities of the Municipal and Provincial governments such as taxation. Nenshi anticipates the ratification of the charter in 2014. Financial decisions The city implemented a 10-year plan to merge the business tax with the non-residential property tax. Until then Calgary was one of the last cities to have a stand-alone business tax. It is estimated that taxes will decrease 65% for Calgarian business over the decade and save the city $1.3 million in operational overhead. Towards the end of first Nenshi's