[trevorhayden]

Edmonton has thousands of kilometers of unnamed alleys and also a need for more funds. What do you think about an "adopt an alley program" where people could pay $10,000 to have a block of alley named after them or a family member?

 

[archited]

@trevorhayden I love the idea... further it could be an adopt an alley program whereby companies could become responsible for general upkeep of the same -- assisting adjacent landowners with landscape and hardscape features.

 

[David A]

Edmonton has thousands of kilometers of unnamed alleys and also a need for more funds. What do you think about an "adopt an alley program" where people could pay $10,000 to have a block of alley named after them or a family member?

Somewhat tangentially someone recently got their name on a new hospital elsewhere in Alberta for putting in approx. 1/25th of what the government spent.

So using that benchmark the 10,000 should then also require over 250,000 of government spending on the same block.

 

[Gronk!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1848094049833521188

 

[Kosy123]

Yeah Oshry has been positively vile on Twitter over the last year. Extremely glad he was a failed mayoral candidate.

 

[trevorhayden]

What is it about social media that turns completely normal people crazy?

 

[policyenthusiast]

What is it about social media that turns completely normal people crazy?

There's a lot of interesting academic studies on how social media contributes to radicalization. That being said, most of the crazies on social media were already crazy, you just didn't have to hear about them.

 

[Gus Haynes]

Michael Oshry out here proving why his 6% result in the mayoral election was more than he deserved.

 

[David A]

Crazy seems to begat crazy and violence likewise. In part its the relative anonymity. People tend to be more restrained in what they say to others because of how their friends or family will look at them or how they will react.

And they can always find at least one person (or more) on the internet or social media who agrees with them, even if it is batsh*t crazy. Unfortunately, there is not a good filter for such comments and it really isn't good for society.

 

[trevorhayden]

Would there be benefit to the City charging people who dump yard waste into their organics bin outside designated yard waste pickup dates?

 

[kcantor]

Would there be benefit to the City charging people who dump yard waste into their organics bin outside designated yard waste pickup dates?

Given that yard waste can be placed in the organic bin in Edmonton as long as it meets certain guidelines, it might be hard to determine what you think you should be charging them for when they’re complying.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Would there be benefit to the City charging people who dump yard waste into their organics bin outside designated yard waste pickup dates?

The cost of enforcing this at the municipal level would massively outweigh the revenue generation. We don't need more tax burden on property owners.

 

[kcantor]

The cost of enforcing this at the municipal level would massively outweigh the revenue generation. We don't need more tax burden on property owners.

There is nothing to “enforce” - yard waste is perfectly acceptable in green bins.

 

[policyenthusiast]

There is nothing to “enforce” - yard waste is perfectly acceptable in green bins.

Surely it was obvious that I'm talking about administering the charges, not where grass clippings are.

 

[policyenthusiast]

City releases proposed fall budget adjustments

​ October 31, 2024 The City released its fall budget adjustment reports today, recommending both spending reductions and revenue increases as part of ongoing efforts to tackle budget challenges. These proposed changes will allow the City to continue to deliver the 70 services and over 200 construction projects in the 2023-2026 budget. Since last fall, the City has been making adjustments to the four-year budget in response to inflationary pressures and rapid population growth, which have made it much more expensive to deliver the same services. Edmontonians’ changing service needs have also impacted the City’s bottom line. These challenges contributed to the City’s deficit last year and continue to impact its finances. The City is forecasting a $34 million deficit this year, based on financial results from the second quarter. “While we planned for these pressures, they’re much bigger than forecasted when we developed the four-year budget in 2022,” said Stacey Padbury, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager. “We are delivering services beyond what the current budget can support and that’s not sustainable. Like many Edmontonians who continue to deal with high costs, we have to make some tough choices about what money we have coming in and what we’re spending it on.” The City is recommending an 8.1 per cent tax increase for 2025. Council approved seven per cent of this increase in April 2024 to help manage the budget challenges and maintain services. One per cent of the increase would help to replenish the Financial Stabilization Reserve. The reserve helps the City to manage one-time budget pressures like deficits, but it was depleted during the pandemic and went below its minimum balance to manage the deficit in 2023. The remaining 0.1 per cent would help fund the 2025 election. To limit the tax increase, the City is proposing $8.5 million in ongoing savings. The reductions include a lot of small changes, such as renegotiating the City’s phone contracts, which helped minimize the impact on services. It also includes service changes, like slowing down the Heritage Program. Staff have identified another $10 million in one-time savings to help rebuild the Financial Stabilization Reserve, which will be needed in the challenging times ahead. “Our fall budget adjustment recommendations are about taking fiscally responsible steps to manage the budget challenges we face, and to minimize the impact of those challenges on our services and the people we serve,” said Padbury. “The challenges we face are complex and will take several years to manage, but we can make meaningful progress with these recommendations.” The reports also include proposed changes to the capital budget. The City is recommending a $152 million increase to its capital plans, largely for neighbourhood renewal projects and the Terwillegar Drive Expressway. This represents one per cent of the $10.8 billion capital budget, which already has hundreds of construction projects underway. Alongside the fall budget adjustments, the City also released its annual update to the carbon budget. It’s an important tool to support Council’s decision-making as they adjust the capital and operating budgets. It also tracks progress on the City’s energy transition goals. The reports will be presented to City Council on November 13, 2024. Council will deliberate and decide on any budget adjustments from December 2 to 5, 2024. Edmontonians can view the City’s recommended adjustments and learn more about the budget process at edmonton.ca/budget.