Mayor Tara Veer (right) chats with a citizen during Saturday's Let's Talk event at Parkland Mall. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

let's talk

Mayor Veer says quick action needed on council’s strategic direction

Apr 28, 2019 | 10:50 AM

The mayor of Red Deer believes city council needs to move quickly on implementing the strategic directions identified through feedback from citizens.

Tara Veer said as much on Saturday at The City’s annual Let’s Talk event, which allows residents to chat one-on-one with council members as well as the admin team and representatives from several City departments and local agencies.

“I think that we are very genuine about wanting to hear feedback from citizens. We hear feedback through formal forums like Let’s Talk, we receive emails, we receive letters, engagement on social media, we have anecdotal conversations at the grocery store and at community events, and we receive formal requests on our agenda,” Veer said.

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“I think our citizens on the whole feel heard, but what they need to see is action on some of those key areas. When citizens see results, they’ll know they’re being heard because we’re being responsive.”

Those strategic directions include becoming a safer community, being socially responsible, and ensuring Red Deerians have a strong local economy and municipal services they can depend on, according to Veer.

It’s been stated by City officials the last several years during budget time how difficult it would be to pare down the numbers while maintaining said services.

Veer doesn’t expect the 2020 capital and operating budgets to be much different.

“There has been a general recognition and understanding that we have been navigating through a really tough year, that the economy has been poor, and that the social challenges are very real and systemic issues,” she said. “There’s recognition that we’re trying to do what we can with the decision-making authorities that we have, but that’s there’s always more that we can do.

“I would expect with the numbers that’s were faced with today, we do not see a return to growth years imminently and we think that it will continue to be a recessionary budget, so again, there will be tough decisions.”

Modest cuts were made, Veer noted, to items like recreation where hours were shortened at the Collicutt and Dawe centres, and to transportation where Sunday bus service frequency was lessened.

“When citizens comment on the services that we’re providing, it’s important we take that under strong advisement because we’re accountable for every decision that we make,” Veer said. “It’s important that if there are areas of services we need to shore up that we respond to that.”