Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the city needs more cultural infrastructure money from the province. (CBC )

Calgary's mayor says there is a bit of a disparity in the provincial budget between what Edmonton and Calgary receive for cultural projects.

The province is spending a lot more money in the capital city, said Naheed Nenshi.

“When we see the past, what was given to Edmonton for the Art Gallery of Alberta, when we see the commitment this year for the Royal Alberta Museum and the fact that we've got a lot of cultural infrastructure that we need to build up in Calgary and we haven't seen commitment to that,” he said.

The mayor said he plans to raise the issue with the provincial government.

Overall Nenshi said the budget revealed on Thursday is a stay-the-course plan with few surprises.

Premier Alison Redford will be going to the polls later this spring with a budget that increases spending while holding the line on taxes.

The $40-billion spending package includes a six per cent increase for Alberta Health Services, a 3.4 per cent increase for education funding and a big boost — almost 34 per cent — for AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) recipients.

The projected deficit is almost $900 million.

Nenshi questioned why the budget has money for more RCMP officers and Alberta Sheriffs but nothing for Calgary police. “City council chose to make part of that investment as part of the budget this year in a not-uncontroversial debate. But I am a little bit surprised that the province, on first glance, doesn't appear to be coming to the table on that,” he said.

But there is a big increase in funding for the solicitor general’s office, so it remains to be seen how much of that will come to Calgary, Nenshi noted. Nenshi said he is pleased the province is going ahead with a $250 million upgrade to radio systems for emergency services in Alberta.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesman Scott Hennig the financial picture painted in the budget is unrealistic.

“They're projecting almost a 10 per cent increase in personal income tax growth and they're expecting an 11 ½ per cent increase in corporate tax growth. Those are huge numbers. The economy is going to have to be very hot for those numbers to come true,” he said.