WEEKLY UPDATE - SEP 18

Welcome back to the weekly wrap up! We had an epic #yegcc meeting over Tuesday and Wednesday with lots of important business covered.

Public Hearing on Monday saw a rezoning in Oliver for a new apartment building on 102 Ave. This is a fantastic corridor for connections, whether moving through on the Olgabahn or visiting one of the great local shops. I'm excited to welcome more people to this exciting area!

We also heard a notice of motion from Andrew Knack about compensating business owners for lost revenue during major capital projects. This has been an issue affecting businesses along the Valley Line West, and one I hope we can get support for when we debate it on October 24th.

At Council, we heard the financial update for the first two quarters of 2023. There was positive news around our capital budget - weighted by spending, Edmonton's capital projects are 99.3% on budget! And 82% are on schedule!

But we also heard bleaker news on the operating budget. External pressures are moving us towards a $70m deficit. This will mean tough decisions at our fall budget adjustment in November. I'm confident we'll find a way to respond to current pressures without losing sight of the investments that will pay off in the long-term.

Council also heard an update on the Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy. This holistic approach is key to creating lasting change in our community. I'm excited by this ongoing work and the efforts to bring all partners to the table to make the most of our collective actions.

I passed a related motion asking City staff to provide information on the City's investment in safety and wellbeing, and options for ensuring these resources keep pace with population growth and inflation.

Many challenges we see today are as a result of underinvestment in key social services over decades. I hope to see a clear policy to make sure early prevention and interventions that we know work can continue to receive the resources they need.

I also passed a motion to create a dedicated traffic safety team that can tackle excessive vehicle noise. After this summer, it's clear that increasing fines alone isn't fixing the problem. Funding this traffic team is one of the tough decisions we'll have to make at budget adjustment but I'm hopeful I'll get the support to set this team up. It will mean both quieter and safer streets for all Edmontonians.

Last week also saw an announcement from Edmonton Police to help create safer public streets. The status quo is not serving Edmontonians and I appreciate the Service's clear focus on addressing people perpetrating violence in our community, and connecting people to services. At our Police Commission meeting this week, I'll be asking about key performance measures so that we can track the impact of this work.

Thank you to all the frontline EPS officers who do this difficult work every day, and for all first responders, social agencies, mutual aid organisations, and community members who grapple with the drug poisoning crisis on our streets.

Even if usage becomes less visible, it's important to remember that there remain critical gaps to be filled in housing, mental health, and addictions support. All orders of government will need to continue working on these underlying issues to make our streets safer for all.

Thank you as always for tuning in and see you next week!