council update, 19 February 2010

Hello everyone:

Hope you're enjoying these sunny days!

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INPUT

Parks Canada's special events advisory group (SEPAC) is meeting in the basement theatre of the Banff Information Centre on February 25 from 10 - 11:30 a.m.  The three events under consideration are the Macleod and Dixon Ride for Kids, the Tour for Kids, and the Banff-Jasper Relay.  The meeting is open to the public.  If you would like to attend, Parks asks that you RSVP by Wednesday to banff.events@pc.gc.ca .   If you can't attend, but want to submit comments in advance, you can send them to the same email before 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

SHAMELESS PROMOTION

Looking for a Girls' Nite Out opportunity?  The Soroptimists are doing their annual fundraising evening on March 2 at the BPL.  These people do great work in our community -- if you'd like to support them by attending their event, contact Diane Gibson at dmgibson@telus.net

MONDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING

You can see the whole meeting package at this link:

http://www.banff.ca/town-hall/banff-town-council/council-meetings/dates-agendas/council-meeting-2010-02-22.htm

It's a light meeting.  Highlights include:

Finance committee reconsideration

Councillor Stavros Karlos is asking Council to reconsider the motion I made in early 2008 to set up a council finance committee.  You can see the entire report on page 14 of the package.  I am hoping that council will agree to this, whether as a small committee of council and staff, or as a committee including all of council.  I think it would give us an opportunity to concentrate on a regular, year-round basis, on financial issues and processes.  There is a lot of good work being done by administration, but there are always improvements that can be made, and a committee structure would give us a place to ask those questions and suggest those ideas.

Appointment of the Assessment Review Board and setting the Bylaw for this year

This is a regular annual process to allow for the appeal of property assessments.  You can see the background information and the bylaw itself, starting on page 23 of the package.

UPCOMING ABSENCE

I am leaving on vacation on Tuesday and -- if all goes well -- may be away for a few weeks.  I apologize for missing the next couple of council update emails, but will get back on track in mid-April.

THE FINE PRINT

As always, this post represents only my personal point of view, and does not purport to represent the point of view of the Town of Banff or its Council.