Kinsmen Centre upgrades, police funding, and flood mitigation
Budget time is just around the corner, and councillors will be asked to make some tough decisions. Aging infrastructure and an expanding city are putting many demands on precious few dollars, according to some of the councillors we spoke to during last week's year in review. This week councillors will get their first chance to discuss some of the big ticket items which will be part of the budget debates in November.
Bigger city, more police
The Edmonton Police Commission is looking to add 400 people to its ranks over the next four years to keep up with the city’s booming population.
With Edmonton growing so quickly, more police will be needed to meet acceptable response times, according to a report going before the city’s community services committee on Monday.
The commission is asking for a 17 per cent increase to the size of the force, which will cost $15.4 million in the first year alone. The total price tag for all 400 new staff members hasn’t yet been calculated.
Coun. Scott McKeen said his role on the police commission has shown him how much pressure the force is under, and how important good policing is. He’s not sure he’ll support the request, but said the city has to provide good police service for a growing population.
Breathing new life into old rec centre
Councillors will consider another major investment this week: $106 million dollars to upgrade the Kinsmen Sports Centre.
As reported last week, the money would go towards creating a ground-floor lobby, expanded fitness centre and new racket courts, along with widening the 50-metre warm-up pool and adding more parking spaces.
Coun. Ben Henderson said the improvements would turn the Kinsmen into a state-of-the-art training and competition venue, which could play an important role in Edmonton's bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
About 650,000 people use the facility each year, making it the second busiest recreation centre in the city. Kinsmen director Brad Badger said that number could rise to more than a million once the proposed updates are made.
Utility rate increase proposed
You can expect to pay about $4.35 more on your monthly utility bill if council passes the proposed budget.
City staff are requesting a 6.4 per cent rate increase, which is well above the rate of inflation.
City Chief Financial Officer Lorna Rosen said part of the increase will help pay for a massive flood mitigation project. Eighteen neighbourhoods could get a major infrastructure overhaul to prevent flooding.
Coun. Michael Walters said the rate increase is the responsible way to prevent water damage to homes.
In his words, it’s a lot cheaper to pay an extra four dollars on your monthly utility bill than it is to repair a flooded basement.
Some of the increase will also go toward new environmentally friendly waste management facilities.
Councillors will get their first look at the proposed utility budget on Thursday.
What do you think the city’s priorities should be this budget? Tweet your thoughts to @LauraOsmanCBC or comment below.
