Citizens call for climate action, better transit at Calgary budget public hearings
Citizens, community organizations and interest groups got their turn at the mic on Day 2 of Calgary’s budget meetings, with most looking for funding rather than cuts.
Calgary’s old city hall is framed against the newer building on Monday, November 21, 2022.
Story by Brodie Thomas • Yesterday Calgary Herald
Mayor Jyoti Gondek warned councillors that more than 100 people were signed up to speak, and presentations could spill over to Wednesday’s meeting. Throughout the morning, transit, climate action and public safety were the common themes as citizens took turns spending up to five minutes at the mic.
Many speakers, including Steve Bentley of the Calgary Climate Hub, were critical of the budget’s lack of funding for climate initiatives.
“This budget is supposed to be our net-zero launch,” he said. “Between this council and the next, that’s us either missing or meeting our 2030 net zero goals. Does this feel like a net-zero launch budget to you? I’m not feeling it.”
Natalie Robertson also spoke about the ways climate change is negatively affecting Calgary, such as with wildfire smoke in the summer.
“This council declared a climate emergency and I guess it was me that was naive to think that that actually meant something, (and) that the strategic direction given by council to admin would somehow be reflected in the budget,” said Robertson.
The Calgary downtown skyline was photographed on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
Several speakers pressed for better service and more infrastructure for transit and cycling.
“The most important thing to improve transit in my opinion is to increase frequency across the entire network,” said Sebastien Bergeron. “I live in a one-car household and I’d like to keep it that way. Fast, reliable and frequent transit is a key component to making that happen for me.”
Cycling advocate Brett Bergie said the city should return pedestrian and bicycle co-ordinator positions to the mobility team. She said not having these specialists on the team has cost Calgary momentum in its cycling infrastructure.
A CTrain passes through the City Hall LRT station in downtown Calgary on Thursday, February 3, 2022.© Provided by Calgary Herald
Related video: City of Calgary says it seeks balance with proposed 4.4% property tax hike, rate increases
Duration 1:05 View on Watch
Two speakers from business revitalization zones brought concerns about social disorder. Alison Karim-McSwiney of the International Avenue BRZ said they are employing private security in their area to supplement police officers in dealing with social disorder.
“Our complaint is not with the fine people who serve this area, but with the extreme lack of front-line police resources. We have a deficit of over 35 officers in our district,” said Karim-McSwiney.
Annie MacInnis, executive director of the Kensington BRZ, said social disorder is an increasing problem in her area as well. She said Calgary isn’t alone in this concern — at a recent national conference of business improvement areas, it was the No. 1 concern for groups across the country.
“With our pedestrian-rich environments and greater population density, we are at the forefront of this social disorder, and experiencing more and more disruption of businesses and daily life,” said MacInnis.
Related
Mayor Jyoti Gondek warned councillors that more than 100 people were signed up to speak, and presentations could spill over to Wednesday’s meeting. Throughout the morning, transit, climate action and public safety were the common themes as citizens took turns spending up to five minutes at the mic.
Many speakers, including Steve Bentley of the Calgary Climate Hub, were critical of the budget’s lack of funding for climate initiatives.
“This budget is supposed to be our net-zero launch,” he said. “Between this council and the next, that’s us either missing or meeting our 2030 net zero goals. Does this feel like a net-zero launch budget to you? I’m not feeling it.”
Natalie Robertson also spoke about the ways climate change is negatively affecting Calgary, such as with wildfire smoke in the summer.
“This council declared a climate emergency and I guess it was me that was naive to think that that actually meant something, (and) that the strategic direction given by council to admin would somehow be reflected in the budget,” said Robertson.
The Calgary downtown skyline was photographed on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
Several speakers pressed for better service and more infrastructure for transit and cycling.
“The most important thing to improve transit in my opinion is to increase frequency across the entire network,” said Sebastien Bergeron. “I live in a one-car household and I’d like to keep it that way. Fast, reliable and frequent transit is a key component to making that happen for me.”
Cycling advocate Brett Bergie said the city should return pedestrian and bicycle co-ordinator positions to the mobility team. She said not having these specialists on the team has cost Calgary momentum in its cycling infrastructure.
A CTrain passes through the City Hall LRT station in downtown Calgary on Thursday, February 3, 2022.© Provided by Calgary Herald
Related video: City of Calgary says it seeks balance with proposed 4.4% property tax hike, rate increases
Duration 1:05 View on Watch
Two speakers from business revitalization zones brought concerns about social disorder. Alison Karim-McSwiney of the International Avenue BRZ said they are employing private security in their area to supplement police officers in dealing with social disorder.
“Our complaint is not with the fine people who serve this area, but with the extreme lack of front-line police resources. We have a deficit of over 35 officers in our district,” said Karim-McSwiney.
Annie MacInnis, executive director of the Kensington BRZ, said social disorder is an increasing problem in her area as well. She said Calgary isn’t alone in this concern — at a recent national conference of business improvement areas, it was the No. 1 concern for groups across the country.
“With our pedestrian-rich environments and greater population density, we are at the forefront of this social disorder, and experiencing more and more disruption of businesses and daily life,” said MacInnis.
Related
Multiple organizations had funding requests, including Calgary Heritage Initiative Society which wanted $5 million for a residential heritage tax credit pilot program. Arts incubator cSpace was looking for an injection of $1 million over four years, saying its model had proven to be successful for helping grow the arts and create value for the city.
By mid-afternoon, only two speakers had advocated for lower taxes — both were business advocates looking for lower non-residential taxes. Deborah Yedlin of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce reiterated her call for a rebalancing of the tax share away from businesses.
Guy Huntingford, representing a number of groups, including the chamber and downtown business association, said a rebalancing of the tax share is necessary to keep attracting businesses.
“Calgarians require a healthy and growing job market to pay their taxes that in turn provides the services they desire,” he said.
Coun. Sonya Sharp said she was surprised that so few speakers asked for reduced taxes.
“That’s not what I’ve been hearing through emails and through surveys that I’ve been looking at, plus all the citizen satisfaction (survey) work that the city did,” said Sharp.
She said she expects many people who would have concerns about higher taxes would not be free to speak to council during the day.
The mayor said one thing she noted across most presentations was the desire for sustainability.
“They’re all looking for sustainability in one form or another. And what sustainability looks like for one Calgarian may be different than another, but the message is pretty clear that there are diverse people who live in the city that are seeking diverse investments.”
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