Coming Up: Jan 12
Council meets on Monday. On the agenda this week:
Hospital Foundation
Stormwater Utility Bylaw
City Line of Credit
Delegations
At all Council meetings, organisations and residents are welcome to come talk to Council.
This week, the following delegation is coming in:
The Grande Prairie Hospital Foundation to give update on the future work of the Foundation
Stormwater Utility
Council will be debating the implementation of a Stormwater Utility System.
Right now, the City spends approximately $8.2 million per year on operating the stormwater system. Since it is funded through tax revenue, how much each property contributes is based on that property’s assessed value. The result of this is that some properties (including most residential properties) pay more for the stormwater system than if fair when we look at how much water they shed.
Since 2019, Council has discussed implementing a Stormwater Utility System whereby costs for this system are removed from taxes and instead billed out based on how much hard surface each property has. Supporting this change was part of my election platform in 2021. In fall budget deliberations, Council gave direction to begin collecting Stormwater Utility revenue on July 1 2024.
On Monday, Council will be debating implementation of this system.
You can see more about this on the City website at https://cityofgp.com/stormwaterutility
I do support the implementation of a Stormwater System. However, I do have concerns with the Tier system being proposed. You can see my views at https://bressey.ca/stormwater
City line of credit
The City collects most of its revenue every summer when property taxes are due.
When it collects money, the City doesn’t just leave cash in a low interest bank account. Instead, it puts money into higher interest but secure investments such as GICs.
Usually, investments are cashed out this time of year to meet cash requirements until property taxes start getting paid. However, we have unusual interest rates right now: the City’s cost to borrow money for a couple of months is less than guaranteed returns that investments can make.
Rather than cashing out investments, there is a recommendation for Council to expand the City’s Line of Credit from $5 million to $15 million in order to meet current cash requirements. Borrowing instead of cashing out will generate ~$50,000 in net income.
I intend to support this. I appreciate our Administration working hard to identify opportunities like this to maximize taxpayer dollars.
That’s what is on our agenda this week. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.
We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.
After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.
Thanks for reading!
-Dylan