Last weeks & Regular Council Meeting December 20, 2022
Monday is our last meeting of 2022 - it’s been a busy year!
Last weeks
Budget 2022 ($301,883,300)
Budget deliberations concluded last week after Council voted on 34 motions - On Monday, we’ll vote to approve the final $301,883,300 budget and the Net Tax Requirement of $117,432,700. The budget process can be intense and information about deliberation results are not particularly accessible. I also heard a few interesting/inaccurate comments about how different councillors vote, so I put together a few statistics about out 2022 process to give an idea of how voting turned out:
After a handful of amending motions were withdrawn, there were 33 motions we considered to amend our plans for 2022, and one housekeeping motion to fund the library and Arts & Heritage Foundation, to adjust (reduce) the budgets for a couple capital projects, and to approve/postpone 2022 capital projects.
Of the 34 motions, 12 were carried unanimously, giving the sense that this Council shares many priorities and values:
To make freezeways a permanent service level.
To fund the Home Energy Retrofit Accelerator Program.
To fund a permanent Indigenous Relations Program.
To reinstate our Annual Flower Planting program.
To reinstate our full dog waste clean-up program and switch the funding source to dog licence fees.
To reinstate all the summer porta-poties in parks.
To fund implementation of Procurement recommendations.
To slightly decrease Community Services funding.
To fund the construction of the Kingswood Boat Dock.
To permanently fund a Municipal Energy Specialist position.
To slightly decrease public engagement funding.
To reinstate staffing at outdoor ice rinks.
There were also ten 6-1 votes, which also implies that most of Council is on the same page about these issues. These votes included:
To reinstate the Take It Or Leave It Event. (Mayor Heron in favour.)
To postpone the police building project. (Councillor Biermanski in favour.)
To reinstate the Beautification Cost Sharing Program. (Councillor Hughes opposed.)
To fund the Municipal Naming project. (Councillor Biermanski opposed.)
To reduce Arts & Heritage funding. (Councillor Biermanski in favour.)
To reduce grass cutting in particular areas. (Councillor Hughes opposed.)
To increase funding for SAIF. (Myself opposed.)
To reinstate regular Saturday transit service. (Counsellor Hughes in favour.)
To reinstate support for events for road safety. (Councillor Biermanski opposed.)
To fund the library, Arts & Heritage, and adjusting capital projects. (Councillor Biermanski opposed.)
So, Council was largely on the same page for 22/34 votes - those results mean that we have a lot of common and a lot to discuss going into strategic planning in the new year!
Homeland Housing
Homeland’s budget process concluded last week, with the board approving our 2022 budget including a 2.5% increase in the requisition to municipalities. Like we’ve experienced municipally, Homeland is being hit hard with downloading from the province, including de-indexing of support for low-income seniors, and the removal of non-emergency capital supports. Going forward, our priorities will likely include a capital maintenance plan (so, taking care of our assets before they fail- roofs, heating systems, etc) that does not rely on the provincial supports than have been available in the past decades.
We also directed our CEO to enter into negotiations with St. Albert to acquire a land donation for affordable housing - I have high hopes for this project in the heart of St. Albert.
Agenda highlights
Art Installation ($38,000)
This is a recommendation from the Public Art Committee & Community Living Standing Committee to approve a month-long installation during the 2022 Children’s Festival.
Honorarium Policy
This is a recommendation from the Committee & Community Living Standing Committee to approve an honorarium policy - for those providing services to the city - and to require that a report on honorariums be provided to Council each year.
Appointment of Chief Administrative Officer (Interim)
All municipalities are required to have a CAO (City Manager), so with the departure of Mr. Scoble at the end of the year, Council decided to appoint the Deputy CAO, Kerry Hilts, in this role while we conduct our search for a permanent CAO. I look forward to working more closely with Mr. Hilts!
Cherot Redistricting (1st reading)
This is to set the public hearing date for changes in the Cherot neighbourhood for January 31. Proposed changes are to allow development.
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. Members of the public can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
