Organizational meeting + regular Council meeting October 24, 2022

Org meeting highlights

This is when we set our meeting schedule for the year, set the deputy-mayor roster, and appoint members of Council to various committees.

Council meetings

Admin is proposing that Council meetings be set for twice per month either Mondays at 2pm (same as now) or Tuesdays at 9:30am.

I have a preference for a Tuesday afternoon option, but I’m open to hear what others think about this proposal. I prefer Tuesdays to give residents more time to review and provide feedback on upcoming decisions of Council (agenda packages & associated recommendations are released Friday afternoon), to give staff time to respond to requests of residents to present to Council after the agenda package is released, and to have a more reliable day of the week for everyone - Monday holidays in January, February, April, May, July, September & October mean that we’re moving meetings to Tuesdays quite often using a Monday schedule.

Committee of the Whole meetings

Admin is proposing that monthly COW meetings start at 9:30am. I’ve been very open about the fact that, as a part-time councillor, I am unavailable for regular morning meetings. Thankfully, our last remuneration committee recognized the importance of accommodating working councillors (they recommended “that Council meetings be adjusted to commence later in the afternoon or evening to allow those employed in a full-time capacity elsewhere the opportunity to serve on Council”), so we have this volunteer committee of residents to rely on for advice.

Deputy Mayor

The DM schedule is the same as last year as far as I can tell - I’m DM in January/February.

Legislative Appointments

There are not many changes to the committee appointments, which is typical in the second year of a term. I’m staying on with Homeland Housing and the Youth Committee, and also taking over for the Seniors’ Committee.

Council meeting highlights

2023 Budget presentation

This is the CAO presentation of the 2023 budget proposal. I have a separate blog post written to go over budget highlights & my thoughts - I’ll publish that after the draft becomes public Monday afternoon. The highlights that were made public already include the following:

“For the City of St. Albert to merely maintain existing service levels without adding any new projects or services, a tax increase of 8.2 per cent would be required. Understanding the burden that poses for residents during an already challenging time, Council directed Administration to develop a proposed budget for 2023 with a tax increase in the range of 3 to 5 per cent. To achieve [an overall average municipal property tax increase of 4.6%] , the proposed budget includes the following:

 -Council-approved 5 per cent increase in Electrical Franchise Fees, amounting to a $1.7 million increase in revenue

-Library transfer reduction of $500,000

-Several one-time adjustments/reductions:

o Using $1.4 million from the surplus reserve funds
o Reduction of $258,000 in the public art reserve transfer
o Reduction of $250,000 in the community capital transfer
o Reduction of $413,000 in costs due to the Fountain Park closure until July 2023.”

Energy Efficiency Replacement Program (+$200,000)

This is a request to increase the budget for this program that will install EV chargers, to be funded from a Municipal Climate Change Action Centre grant. If this motion fails, we would return the grant funding and be unable to complete the installations.

St. Albert Sturgeon Hospice Association Sponsorship ($1000)

This is to sponsor a Christmas Tree in support this organization’s fundraising effort. This motion is a bit surprising because the mayor could have used her discretion (up to $3000) to support this innitiative without a Council motion, but it is a nice gesture to talk about in chambers. If this passes (I’d be shocked if it didn’t!), there will be $750 left in the Council Sponsorship Grant, so please reach out if there is a sponsorship opportunity that would be a good fit for Council support.

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This is a brief and incomplete overview of my activities as a councillor and Council 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. Residents can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.