Council email update, November 20, 2010
Hello everyone:
Hope you're managing to stay warm, and that you're also getting out to enjoy this snow!
It's a busy time at Council. Here are a few items you might be interested in ...
BUDGET MEETING
Council begins the public budget process on Monday with a meeting from 9 - noon in council chambers. This meeting concentrates on presentations from community groups that would like funding from the Town's budget, the approval of the Financial Plan (the document that lays out the assumptions behind the budget), and the approval of a draft Service Review document, which will then be available for everyone to look at and comment on before it is presented for final approval in December.
You can see the full package for this budget meeting here:
This meeting and all the budget meetings coming up are open to the public. I know you'll want to get there early to get a good seat!
MONDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING
Monday's council meeting starts at 2 pm and is open to the public. You can see the full package for the meeting here:
Highlights include:
Outdoor downtown rink:
Council will be talking again about the proposal for a downtown skating rink. I think it's fair to say that the majority of feedback that councillors have received about this idea has been against the Bear Street location. People that I've heard from generally suggest that we just stick with the facilities at the Rec Centre (plus the other outdoor rinks available around town), or that we find a way to get around the insurance problems and provide support to the river ice clearing, or that we find a way to get around the turf damage problems and provide a rink at the High School grounds or in Central Park.
Electrical Franchise Fee:
Back in September, council voted to explore the idea of adding a "rate rider" to electrical bills, with the revenue to be dedicated to an appropriate project, based on feedback from the resident satisfaction survey. We now have information on what that would look like -- you can see the report starting on page 23 of the package.
I missed the original vote, and so will have some questions before voting to go ahead. For example, I wonder whether this rider is directly tied to consumption (in other words, can you decrease your fee by conserving electricity?). It doesn't look like it is. If it's not directly tied to consumption, then isn't it just a tax collected by someone else and remitted to us -- doesn't this add administrative costs, and decrease transparency? If it is directly tied to consumption, then perhaps it would encourage conservation, and perhaps the money should be dedicated to projects connected to electrical use, such as the burying of power lines. I'll need to get this information and think about these factors in deciding on my vote.
Banff Winter Festival:
There is a distressing report starting on page 46 of the package. It describes diminishing volunteer and organizational support for some of the events that make up Winter Festival, and suggests that the Town stop trying to coordinate the Festival and just concentrate on the Mountain Madness and Loppet events. Essentially, this means that the overall umbrella of Banff Winter Festival would fold, and there would just be a sprinkling of independent events such as those races, the Jon Whyte Memorial Spelling Bee, etc. I can't remember off-hand what year the first Banff Winter Carnival (as it was then called) was held, but I believe it was around 90 years ago. It would be a real shame to see this community tradition disappear.
WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY?
The research company is working away at the report of the results from the survey. I expect we will see this report presented at Council's meeting on December 13.
OPPORTUNITY FOR INPUT - BUSINESS LICENCE FEES
Just a reminder that proposed changes to business licence fees will be brought to Council for approval on December 13, and now's your chance to have your comments heard. You can do that through this page on the town's website:
http://www.banff.ca/business/business-profile/business-license-fees.htm
THE FINE PRINT
As always, this post represents my point of view, and does not purport to represent the opinion of the Town of Banff or its Council.