While fewer than 30 people showed up at St. Albert’s budget town hall meeting Monday night at Sir George Simpson Junior High School, it was a small group of five people that controlled the microphone, asking repeated questions of councillors and administration.
“This is a key opportunity for you as residents to share your thoughts on priorities and to listen to each other as what the deliberations might be as to council priorities,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said during his opening remarks. “Our objective is to listen.”
After a brief presentation on the budget by acting city manager Chris Jardine, council sat back and listened to a rotating queue of the same half-dozen speakers suggest changes to the budget, demand changes to the alignment of Ray Gibbon Drive and explain why utility costs continue to climb and why those costs are not included with the overall tax increase.
“To most of us a fee is something that’s discretionary — you can either use the service or decline it and work around it,” said resident Stuart Loomis. “When the fee is not discretionary, then it is a tax and it would be much more fair if council would move back towards funding the city through taxes.”
Loomis said council needed to be more honest in its communication with the public and combine the percentage tax increase in fees for utilities with the overall property tax increase.
“The message to council is truth in communication and tell people truly what the living costs in this community is,” Loomis said.
Andy Keller put numbers to the addition of the 9.5 per cent increase in utilities to the proposed 2.9 per cent hike property taxes, saying it “will drive the cost of owning a home 6.8 per cent higher.”
“For those relying on transit, the cost will be even higher. Council needs to do more in terms of controlling spending.” Keller said.
North Ridge homeowner Richard VanGrinsven used the occasion to assail the city for planning to build phase three of Ray Gibbon Drive to within an estimated 56 metres of nearby homes.
“How do you call yourselves responsible to the residents of North Ridge?” VanGrinsven asked.
Planning and engineering manager Guy Boston explained the road was being built to arterial standards, even though it is supposed to become a six-lane freeway bypass at a future date if the province so desires. The answer did not satisfy VanGrinsven.
“Be prepared for my legal challenge!” he shouted as he left the mike.
Loomis backed up VanGrinsven and warned the city was embarking on a road that could cost it millions if it doesn’t address the issue soon. He pointed to the original alignment of Anthony Henday Drive that would have seen it run only a few dozen metres from homes in Akinsdale. The result was a substantial cost to the province to tweak the alignment, Loomis said, and cost the city Newman College as well as lots of trees.
“My point is we are repeating ourselves but it would be on the shoulders of St. Albert,” Loomis said.
Mike Killick was curious why waste costs were projected to increase almost a million dollars when the new waste collection system was going to mean less solid waste trucked to the landfill. Boston replied that two components — the annualization of solid waste and the ongoing remediation of Riel Park — were the main reasons.
“We didn’t start the new waste program in a full year,” Boston said. “We’re only using the system for seven months in 2011, then for 12 months in 2012.”
Crouse said he was pleased with the turnout and discourse but had hoped more people than the same half-dozen would ask questions.
“I guess you’d like to see a long line behind the mike so you can get a lot of diversity.”
