Feb
29
2012
Good neighbours help build great neighbourhoods. Their actions, large or small, improve the quality of life in our city.
I’m proud to help promote the City’s Good Neighbour Awards, an annual program that recognizes Edmontonians who have gone the extra mile to enrich the quality of life in their communities. The Good Neighbour Awards is a partnership of the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) and the REALTORS Association of Edmonton. Each organization makes generous contributions to enable us to run the program.
This month the City put out its open call for residents to nominate those who help to create safe, connected neighbourhoods. The awards, now in their fifth year, celebrate the work of individuals, couples, families or groups.
Feb
28
2012
As I have written previously, setting the budget for 2012 was a very difficult process. Even after finding efficiencies and opportunities to shift funds, Council was still faced with the choice of cutting services or else increasing property taxes and fees to cover rising costs.
One area where we faced this challenge was recreation services. These facilities and programs—recreation centres, golf courses, ice arenas, outdoor pools—are funded by a combination of property taxes and user fees. Because property taxes do not increase on their own over time (as income taxes do when your income goes up), when we offer new or improved services, such as the Terwillegar Rec Centre that opened recently, we must pay for them either by increasing facility user fees or through an across-the-board property tax increase.
For the 2012 budget, there are two main reasons rec facility fees are increasing: first, general increases as a result of inflation; second, specific increases selected during the budget process so we would not have to reduce service levels. Experience has shown that, overall, Edmontonians prefer increased fees to service reductions or facility closures.
Feb
20
2012
On February 16, Edmonton took advantage of a valuable opportunity to contribute its perspectives to an ongoing conversation about immigration and settlement across the country. The President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) was in Edmonton, and so my colleagues (Councillors Karen Leibovici and Ben Henderson) and I hosted a dialogue between FCM and over sixty Edmonton community leaders, to discuss the roles municipalities should play in supporting successful immigrant settlement.
The
FCM—which acts as the national voice for municipalities by advocating at the federal level—recently released a report called
Starting on Solid Ground: The Municipal Role in Immigrant Settlement. (I encourage you to
read it.) While immigration is typically thought to be the federal government’s responsibility, FCM rightly highlights the crucial role municipalities play in ensuring new Canadians have the support they need to thrive right away. Indeed, the report recommends that municipalities—the level of government that is often the front-line responder to newcomers’ needs—should play an even greater role than they do. The report stresses that all three levels of government need to work more collaboratively.
Feb
16
2012
As we head into a provincial election in the coming months, I want to share one of the subjects at the front of my mind. This is how we can improve the inadequate model that exists for funding municipalities.
While our City has made remarkable investments in capital projects and continues to provide many high-quality services, we’re looking at a tough financial future. The City’s 2012 projected debt load is $2.4 billion. Looking ahead to 2012, we estimate that we will be about $10.9 billion short in funding for capital (building/renewal of infrastructure) as compared to what we require. As the City grows and as our roads, sewers and buildings age, it is getting more expensive to pay for services and infrastructure.
There is no single party to blame here – our situation is not due to this or that decision made by the current Council or past ones. Our financial challenges are the result of problems and gaps that have accumulated over decades. One of the biggest problems is the limited choice municipalities have when it comes to how to pay for their needs.
Feb
12
2012
I just got back from a trip I took to Ottawa on behalf of the City, to speak to Senators, Members of Parliament, and Federal officials about the importance of public transit. This trip was part of my role as Edmonton’s representative on the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Board.
CUTA’s mandate is to act as Canada’s voice for public transit. This involves positioning public transit as a strategic component of Canada’s infrastructure programs, and stressing the important role transit plays in strengthening the Canadian economy. CUTA’s annual “Transit Awareness Days” in Ottawa, which I had the chance to participate in this year, aim to highlight these messages, to encourage collaboration among transit authorities across the country (such as Edmonton Transit), municipalities, and the federal government. Last month, CUTA delegates—elected officials and industry members from across Canada—met with over 80 federal representatives.
