Municipal Politics

[Gronk!]

Edmonton finalizing severance for city manager — the 7th high-ranking official to depart in a year - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca

The City of Edmonton is finalizing severance details with Andre Corbould, as the city manager suddenly leaves his position after three years on the job.

globalnews.ca

 

[Avenuer]

Hard to know if this is a red flag for systemic issues, or the very reason there are systemic issues. Maybe a clean house is what we needed?

If we stop hiring St. Albert residents for exec leadership, that’d be nice.

Granted, Andre committeed to moving to Edmonton after being hired and he did. But there are many other higher-ups that don't live in the City (i.e. St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Parkland County, etc. etc. ).

 

[Greenspace]

When seven senior executives leave, experts in their field and tons of experience, the buck lands with an inexperienced Council. I found Andre extremely capable, willing to listen, good through all the crisis we've been dealt.

 

[Munanyo]

No matter how you spin it, having SEVEN high ranking city bureaucrats leave their positions with the city shows that things are in turmoil at city hall these days. Municipal elections are next year and if things dont turnaround and stabilize shortly, this council is doomed.

 

[Kosy123]

I wouldn't be as full of doom and gloom on this. Bureaucracy is an intricate beast, and institutional knowledge isn't that easy to lose. It discounts the fact that there's an underling and a supportive structure that allows the bureaucracy to continue to function.

For all intents and purposes, senior bureaucrat turnover isn't as bad as some might think. From my experience, in a provincial perspective, sometimes you do need these turnovers especially as administration staff can get wildly off balance and extremely blind to issues on the ground, with extremely bad consequences.

 

[TAS]

I also don't think it's a secret there's a culture issue within city admin. At least that's the comment one of those top 7 bureaucrats said to my good friend.

 

[SarcasticMarmot]

No matter how you spin it, having SEVEN high ranking city bureaucrats leave their positions with the city shows that things are in turmoil at city hall these days. Municipal elections are next year and if things dont turnaround and stabilize shortly, this council is doomed.

5 of those high ranking bureaucrats where Corbould's direct reports with no accountability direct to council, if there was a problem the buck stops with him.

 

[Kosy123]

David Staples: Province considers move to 'audit and stabilize' the City of Edmonton, say government officials

Senior officials with the province of Alberta confirm that the government is alarmed and, should it be required, the province will step in.

edmontonjournal.com

Staples is a fucking idiot, how this absolute cretin of a sycophant is allowed to write third rate articles is beyond me. This provincial government is full of bumbling idiotic morons.

The provincial government wants to do an audit? Okay sure, once they pay up their owed property taxes then they can even remotely start talking. Until then? Stay in your lane.

If Corbould leaving is what sparked this "conversation" then that just shows that he essentially was a UCP aligned bureaucrat for all intents and purposes.

 

[Gronk!]

David Staples: Province considers move to 'audit and stabilize' the City of Edmonton, say government officials

Senior officials with the province of Alberta confirm that the government is alarmed and, should it be required, the province will step in.

edmontonjournal.com

Staples is a fucking idiot, how this absolute cretin of a sycophant is allowed to write third rate articles is beyond me. This provincial government is full of bumbling idiotic morons.

The provincial government wants to do an audit? Okay sure, once they pay up their owed property taxes then they can even remotely start talking. Until then? Stay in your lane.

If Corbould leaving is what sparked this "conversation" then that just shows that he essentially was a UCP aligned bureaucrat for all intents and purposes.

I am greatly amused by the fact that he only talked to Tim Cartmell and Sarah Hamilton, who are known to be affiliated with the UCP, and yet he somehow failed to talk to the Mayor or the other City Council members. And yes I agree that Staples is a toolbag - he can't even write a good Oilers column.

 

[Kosy123]

I am greatly amused by the fact that he only talked to Tim Cartmell and Sarah Hamilton, who are known to be affiliated with the UCP, and yet he somehow failed to talk to the Mayor or the other City Council members. And yes I agree that Staples is a toolbag - he can't even write a good Oilers column.

Yeah because if he talked to someone like Janz, he (rightfully so) will be told to stfu and will be pointed to the fact that the provincial government is too cheap to pay their property taxes.

Staples is a sycophantic coward and should have tomatoes thrown at him every day all day.

 

[TAS]

I am greatly amused by the fact that he only talked to Tim Cartmell and Sarah Hamilton, who are known to be affiliated with the UCP, and yet he somehow failed to talk to the Mayor or the other City Council members. And yes I agree that Staples is a toolbag - he can't even write a good Oilers column.

He has an agenda, columnists do, and many people will agree with him. So he's certainly not going to speak to someone unsympathetic to the message he's trying to get across.
His tagging on of the $100 million for creating better, safer active transportation to provide more viable options as an example of wasteful spending is laughable, to me, as well.

As noted in a post above, maybe the city audit will remind the UCP government of the $60 million they owe us in lieu of taxes. Be nice if Staples, Hamilton and Cartmell addressed that.

Side note - I sent an email last week to both Cartmell and Hamilton about the $60 million owed to Edmonton, wondering if it's something they have brought up or intend to address. I haven't received a reply yet.

 

[Greenspace]

I don't think everything Staples writes can be dismissed. I know a lot of folks in admin and many are very frustrated with this Council for a variety of reasons. He probably should have talked to more than just Hamilton and Cartmell.

I don't know about this $60m you speak to and how a provincial government 'owes' us, they don't have to do anything they don't want to do. But we have seen successively less MSI to municipalities over the years, including during NDP times, and the perception is Edmonton gets shortchanged over Calgary (arena for example).

With the recent CSU52 contracts, we're looking at a 7-9% property tax increase when this is discussed at SOBA, unless Council kicks something down the road.

This is the most exciting municipal politics in Edmonton has been for a while.

 

[David A]

I'd watch out, Staples agenda is often the UCP agenda. I feel he is floating a trial balloon here for them to see how it goes over.

Having said that, I feel city administration is a mess now. However, I feel much the same way about how the province is run too.

If they were competent perhaps they could fix the problems with the city, but really they are not better sending off people with serious health issues to stay in hotels and not even being aware of it.

 

[Kosy123]

I don't think everything Staples writes can be dismissed. I know a lot of folks in admin and many are very frustrated with this Council for a variety of reasons. He probably should have talked to more than just Hamilton and Cartmell.

I don't know about this $60m you speak to and how a provincial government 'owes' us, they don't have to do anything they don't want to do. But we have seen successively less MSI to municipalities over the years, including during NDP times, and the perception is Edmonton gets shortchanged over Calgary (arena for example).

With the recent CSU52 contracts, we're looking at a 7-9% property tax increase when this is discussed at SOBA, unless Council kicks something down the road.

This is the most exciting municipal politics in Edmonton has been for a while.

It's in reference to the GIPOT (Grants in Place of Taxes Program), which faced successive cuts of 25% in 2019 and 50% in 2020.

Grants in Place of Taxes program

This program gives municipalities a grant in lieu of property taxes for Government of Alberta properties.

www.alberta.ca

Grants in Place of Taxes payments hike welcomed, but still coming up short: Alberta municipalities

Alberta's Grants in Place of Taxes Program compensates municipalities for foregone tax revenue but has been paid out at 50% since 2020.

edmontonjournal.com

Considering the provincial government owns properties that are right in the core (on top of others across the entire city), and are exempt from property taxes, yeah no they most definitely do "owe" us in this context. Edmonton has around 60% of the eligible properties for this program, so we were disproportionately affected by the 2019-2020 cuts.

The Federal Government, in contrast has been consistently paying their share through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes program at least takes into account (and pays) if the property assessed was taxable, which is a big difference from the GIPOT program, which as we see is just a grant reimbursement rather than the actual value of the property in question (which may or may not even be equal to the assessed value of said properties)

Understanding payments in lieu of taxes – Payments in lieu of taxes for federal properties – Federal properties and buildings – About government – Canada.ca

Learn about the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program and find the answers to frequently asked questions about payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) for federal properties

www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca

 

[Greenspace]

^Thanks for clarification, I agree with that and something many stakeholders Downtown have asked the province to reverse.