Monday, November 25, 2013

AUMA Recap

Most of City Council attended the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) convention over the last few days.

The AUMA is an organization that represents 272 urban municipalities in the province and advocates the interests of its members to both the provincial and federal governments as well as other provincial and federal organizations.

AUMA holds a yearly convention where there are learning sessions, policy discussions, meetings with provincial officials and cabinet ministers, advocacy resolutions are passed and networking opportunities abound.

I thought I'd give a little recap of my experience this year:

Asset Management
I went to an informative session on Asset Management.  There was an excellent presentation from the Town of Hinton, who leads Albertan municipalities in this field.  In a nutshell, Asset Management is the process of analysing infrastructure to get an accurate accounting of lifespans, upgrades required, etc.  While the City does do this to a certain extent now, there are a number of best practices that could be adopted to give Council and Admin a fuller picture of the health and longevity of our tangible capital assets.

MGA Review
The Municipal Government Act is the piece of legislation that governs almost everything that municipalities do in Alberta.  The government announced last year that the MGA would be undergoing an extensive review that would culminate in an updated version going to the Legislature by Spring 2015.  The City, through its involvement with AUMA, will be able to contribute to these discussions in a number of areas.

One of the sessions I went to on the review spoke about revenue streams.  Some municipalities have asked for the power to diversify their revenue streams in the belief that there is an over-reliance on property taxes.  The presentation examined all the possible revenue streams available and gave pros and cons on each one.  I plan on doing a blog post on the topic in the future.

Municipal Governance
There was a fascinating panel discussion on different municipal governance models.  Regional governments, regional planning boards, and multi-lateral partnerships were all discussed.  There seemed to be a consensus in the room that much of the current system is imperfect, although there was less consensus on what the answers are.

Resolutions
Each year, members of AUMA debate and pass resolutions which direct AUMA's advocacy efforts.  This year we talked about topics ranging from municipal funding to wetlands to amalgamations to pensions plans to the introduction of a provincial combative sports commission.  The AUMA board will now take the policies that were passed and incorporate them into their advocacy efforts.

Dialogue with Ministers
There were a number of Q & A sessions with members of the provincial cabinet.  While sometimes Ministers use this time to announce new policies or additional funding, there were no surprises from what I could tell.  Everything seems pretty status-quo.

Trade Show
Every year the AUMA has a trade show which showcases everything from new street lighting systems to educational opportunities to paving equipment.  It was great to see what types of products and services are out there for municipalities.  I particularly enjoyed having the chance to test out some outdoor fitness equipment.

One of the great things about these conventions is the networking opportunities.  I got to meet many people from around the province and was able to learn from their experiences on a number of topics.
 
Overall, the convention was of great value to me.  I believe the AUMA provides tremendous value to Albertan municipalities and Grande Prairie is no exception.  I look forward to working with them as they advance municipal objectives in the province, especially with Councillor Rice as the new President!

PS. This blog could have been a dozen pages if I expanded on everything...so if you want more details...just give me a shout!



Friday, November 15, 2013

Budget 2014: The Aftermath

The 2014 Budget has been set.

We had to make a lot of hard choices today, but I am pleased with the overall outcome of our budget. 

Here is a list of the funding we approved:

  • Crystal Centre Truss & Rigging upgrades - $2.66 million
  • Leisure Centre upgrades - $2 million (brings total amount to $6 million)
  • Northern Alberta Youth Entrepreneur Camp - $10,000
  • 100th Anniversary Funding - $250,000
  • Grande Prairie Boys Choir - $11,000
  • Grande Prairie Sports Council -$75,000
  • New Off Leash Dog Areas -$68,000
  • Hillside Social Housing demolition project - $300,000
  • Eastlink/Gymniks parking - $2.03 million
  • Football field beside new high school - $2.74 million
  • Odyssey House Second stage shelter - $700,000 (over two years)
  • GP and Area Safe Communities - $10,000
  • 101 Ave Extension (98st to 97 a St.) & Lights - $850,000
  • 124 St. Paving - $2.5 million
  • Intersection upgrades $300,000
  • Manhole & Catch basin replacement - $100,000
  • Replacement of old bridge on Muskoseepi Trails - $300,000
  • 92 St. Twinning design - $200,000
  • Pedestrian trail along 108th St.. (between 68th and 76th ave.) - $300,000
So what does this mean for taxpayers?  I went into budget deliberations looking to have our tax increase come in under 2% and voted on projects with this in mind.  You can see which way each Councillor voted once the minutes of the meeting are released.

After the dust settled, we were looking at a 2.4% tax increase.  Not ideal in my mind, but less than the 3.3% increase that was originally budgeted for and a far cry from the 7-10% increases we saw a few years ago.

I am very pleased with the projects that have gone ahead.  I believe they will have a very positive impact on the future of our city and will help ensure our residents thrive!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

2014 Budget Review

Tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 15th) morning City Council finalizes the budget for next year.  Keep in mind this is just a smaller review.  The previous Council set out a three-year budget beginning in 2012 and culminating in 2014.  However, each year Council is able to tweak the budget.  So without further ado, here is what we face tomorrow:

I'm going to try to make this as clear as I can without getting into too many details.  I'm also still learning about the finer points, so bear with me.

Council has been presented with a number of spending proposals from administration and community groups.  I've listed several of the larger ones ($500K+) below:

Artificial turf football field at CKC: $2.74 million
Eastlink Centre parking: $2.03 million
CGA Truss & Rigging upgrades: $2.66 million
Odyssey House Supportive Housing project: $700,000
Community Space at Isabel Campbell school: $500,000
City Hall First Floor redesign: $500,000

Other projects (< 500K): $1.5 million

Additionally, we are going to find out tomorrow the capital costs associated with the Leisure Centre and the Bear Creek pool renos as well as a list of road/storm water/traffic signal/trail projects.

So we are going to be faced with between $10-$20 million in new expenditure proposals.

Let's look where we're at on the revenue side:

The core operational and capital budgets have been set, but there is a small amount available to us that has not been allocated yet.  These budgeted amounts are $3.4 million in operating and $3.7 million in capital.  These amounts were originally budgeted for with a 3.3% tax rate increase, but due to a number of factors, these amounts now equate to a 1.8% increase.

In addition, there is a $3.4 million surplus from this year that could be used for expenditures.  We'll have to discuss whether we would want to use that entire surplus up, or have it go into our Financial Stabilization Reserve for future expenditures.  So in sum, there is about $10.5 million we have to work with (at a 1.8% tax rate increase).  Of course, we could choose to higher/lower the tax rate.  A 1% increase/decrease equates to a $900,000 change in revenues. 

So there's the scoop.  Tough decisions will have to be made; but that's what we were elected to do.  Thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts on the budget and/or specific proposals.  If you have additional comments, let me know by 9am tomorrow!  Feel free to watch us online starting at 9am or come on by City Hall to watch the action in person!