Calgary Minute: Budget Engagement, Saddledome Roof, and No Planned Cuts

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

This Week In Calgary:

• This morning, at 9:00 am, the City will be playing Canada’s commemorative ceremony in honour of Queen Elizabeth II on TV screens in the City Hall atrium. The Province's ceremony, live from the Alberta Legislature, will be shown on the same screens at 10:00 am.
  
  
• On Tuesday, there will be a Strategic Meeting of Council at 9:30 am to discuss the Citywide Growth Strategy. The Green Line Board will meet on Friday at 9:00 am. No agenda is available for the latter meeting yet.
  
  
• The online engagement phase of the City’s service and budget planning is open until September 30th. The City is looking for feedback from residents on “key questions” that impact the budget and City services - equity and inclusion, fiscal responsibility, cost reduction, community growth and changes, and social wellbeing. There are also in-person engagement sessions scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The list of times and locations is available on the City’s website, along with the feedback form.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Deterioration of the Saddledome’s concrete roof has been reported. The City said they are investigating the condition of the nearly 40-year-old building and that repairs will be undertaken if they are deemed necessary. The price for repairs has not been disclosed and no comment has been made about whether the condition of the roof adds any urgency to the timeline of the Event Centre project. Discussions regarding a new Event Centre are ongoing.
  
  
• An updated report on the City’s service plans and budgets showed no spending or service cuts, but administration did say that the increases to some of the services will not keep pace with inflation or population growth. The City is projecting spending will grow from around $4.192 billion in 2022 to $4.863 billion by 2026. Where does that come from? You guessed it - you! The budget will be finalized in November - until then, the exact impact to individual homeowners is unknown.
  
  
• City Council approved a motion to require all home-based child care providers to have a business license and undergo a police background check. Providers will need to comply with the new regulations by January 1st, 2023. The City is waiving fees for all business licenses until March 16th, 2023 as part of pandemic recovery, so child care providers will be able to comply without cost - for now.

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