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Municipal Politics

Gronk! said:
edmonton.ctvnews.ca

Projected financial shortfall could see city halt spending on new projects

New projects could take a backseat to maintenance and renewal work in Edmonton over the coming years as city council tries to rein in spending and adapt to new financial pressures.
edmonton.ctvnews.ca edmonton.ctvnews.ca
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Between inflation, the city running out of borrowing room, a province that hates us, and an incoming austerity federal government I think we are in for a period of very little new government spending in the city. Projects like new LRT, PowerPlant, Football Stadium, and RAM are atleast a decade out. All we can expect is new roads, there is always money for new roads. We should enjoy all the new stuff we are getting now as its the last for awhile: Lewis Farms, WLRT, Ellerslie Extension, Warehouse Park, Bridge Repairs, Bike Lanes, etc.

Obviously, we should fight for better (especially when it comes to provincial equality) but I think its important to be realistic.
 
SarcasticMarmot said:
Between inflation, the city running out of borrowing room, a province that hates us, and an incoming austerity federal government I think we are in for a period of very little new government spending in the city. Projects like new LRT, PowerPlant, Football Stadium, and RAM are atleast a decade out. All we can expect is new roads, there is always money for new roads. We should enjoy all the new stuff we are getting now as its the last for awhile: Lewis Farms, WLRT, Ellerslie Extension, Warehouse Park, Bridge Repairs, Bike Lanes, etc.

Obviously, we should fight for better (especially when it comes to provincial equality) but I think its important to be realistic.
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We need to cut healthcare and education funding to redirect it to the EPS immediately. We need a 1:1 density of police to residents.
 
Still need to come up with at least $240m for bus replacement, not to mention the $700m Council thinks they want to spend on hydrogen buses.

When you add up all the money the province gives us it's probably about the same as before. They've decreased MSI in favour of one-time grants where they have more control over what projects it goes to. You see the province doing this specifically with the Green Line in Calgary. It's less predicable for the municipality but not necessarily less money overall.
 
SarcasticMarmot said:
Between inflation, the city running out of borrowing room, a province that hates us, and an incoming austerity federal government I think we are in for a period of very little new government spending in the city. Projects like new LRT, PowerPlant, Football Stadium, and RAM are atleast a decade out. All we can expect is new roads, there is always money for new roads. We should enjoy all the new stuff we are getting now as its the last for awhile: Lewis Farms, WLRT, Ellerslie Extension, Warehouse Park, Bridge Repairs, Bike Lanes, etc.

Obviously, we should fight for better (especially when it comes to provincial equality) but I think its important to be realistic.
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Being a government city, I feel we sometimes look to government to do too much. Some projects like the Power Plant, Football Stadium and RAM redevelopment could be private sector initiatives.

If anything I feel our cautious slow moving governments and the city's tight finances are holding some of these things back.
 
Kosy123 said:

Honestly just seems like every major municipality is having the same issues as us.
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A lot of municipalities adjusted their tax plan because of COVID, it's not surprising that the bill comes due. Weirdly, public transit in North America tends not to turn a profit so it also makes sense that they would look for cuts there. Here's Edmonton's share.

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Kosy123 said:
Honestly just seems like every major municipality is having the same issues as us.
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Yes, it is not just us which is good to keep in mind and in context. But this will have to be addressed somehow because you can not have a functional city our size without public transit.

If many people taking public transit are forced to drive, it will create grid lock on the streets and if some can not afford that, businesses that depend on them getting to work will face difficulties.

So public transit is not subsidized just to help out lower income people or others who can not drive. It is in everyone's benefit to have an affordable publicly funded transit system.
 
Lots of interesting comments from Coun. Andrew Knack on Real Talk earlier this week.

- We can't build our way out of congestion.

This 'lefty progressive' council has still spent more on roads than any previous council by a large amount on a per year basis but also on other alternatives because we know we have to have those options as a large city, he said

- population increases benefit the bottom line of the province much more than the city, especially with Alberta deciding not to fund municipalities based on inflation + population growth which he argued makes no sense when cities are struggling with the growth as it relates to schools and hospitals and transit and utility infrastructure - and the province is having yearly surpluses.

Knack says the province not funding issues that it has jurisdiction over related to homelessness and supportive housing has cost the city $91million last year alone that the city has had to pay for.

He hates how province has cut predictable funding to cities that help it make longer term decisions and instead provide project by project grants, which is more difficult to operate from.

with minimal tax increases over multiple years set by previous city council, that included himself as a member he noted, this current council was left in a very difficult position to manage all the issues facing Edmonton because the city fell behind in several areas

 
TAS said:
Lots of interesting comments from Coun. Andrew Knack on Real Talk earlier this week.

- We can't build our way out of congestion.

This 'lefty progressive' council has still spent more on roads than any previous council by a large amount on a per year basis but also on other alternatives because we know we have to have those options as a large city, he said

- population increases benefit the bottom line of the province much more than the city, especially with Alberta deciding not to fund municipalities based on inflation + population growth which he argued makes no sense when cities are struggling with the growth as it relates to schools and hospitals and transit and utility infrastructure - and the province is having yearly surpluses.

Knack says the province not funding issues that it has jurisdiction over related to homelessness and supportive housing has cost the city $91million last year alone that the city has had to pay for.

He hates how province has cut predictable funding to cities that help it make longer term decisions and instead provide project by project grants, which is more difficult to operate from.

with minimal tax increases over multiple years set by previous city council, that included himself as a member he noted, this current council was left in a very difficult position to manage all the issues facing Edmonton because the city fell behind in several areas

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Sometimes it seems like the current Provincial government hates municipalities. They're refusing to fund affordable housing developments that are provincially owned, they've cut infrastructure funding across the board at a time of record population growth, and they introduced municipal provincial parties and passed the ability for the Province to force any Council member to step down.

Who is asking for these changes? I am not surprised Knack is choosing not to run for re-election in this political climate.
 
We are all somewhat engaged here on the issues however the average person is not and all they see is their taxes going up. Up until now Council has funded everything, they rarely say no to things. That has got to change or we have to be okay with double digit property tax increases.

Yes, we are growing and the province should increase funding accordingly but overall grants have largely not decreased, just not in the way Council wants to be funded. The province has opted for more one-time grants such as we saw in the last budget.

We have to have serious conversations about what we can and can't afford regardless of the province, something that hasn't happened up until now. We are going to have to pay down our debts first over the next decade and be selective about growth projects over maintenance. Also what parts of the city get prioritized.

It's simply not good enough to place the blame solely on the province in my opinion. We've seen oil prices sliding and come next March the province may have a lot less money to work with as well.
 
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Yes, I feel the province is bullying cities and that does not make it easier and there are no easy answers to how to resolve this ongoing situation at the municipal level.

However, I do feel the city is enabling this by spending on things the province should, so the most logical solution is to stop doing that, put the ball back in the provinces court and it would improve the city's financial position somewhat.

Edmonton voters are feeling very squeezed and are very tired of taxes going up at high rates. As much as I dislike the provinces approach, I feel the people running our city are equally bad and given public opinion I suspect that is a common feeling. If our councilors can't shape up and I don't have much hope for many of the current bunch, they will soon be replaced.
 
policyenthusiast said:
Sometimes it seems like the current Provincial government hates municipalities. They're refusing to fund affordable housing developments that are provincially owned, they've cut infrastructure funding across the board at a time of record population growth, and they introduced municipal provincial parties and passed the ability for the Province to force any Council member to step down.

Who is asking for these changes? I am not surprised Knack is choosing not to run for re-election in this political climate.
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I think it's less that the current Provincial government hates municipalities as the current Provincial government hating anyone and anything that isn't "them" and/or controlled by them whether that's municipalities or the federal government or police services or Alberta Health or pension plans or immigration...
 
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