Grant Creasey, Mayor for the City of Lacombe. (File Photo)

By Sheldon Spackman

Hoping For The Best

Lacombe mayor says 2020 a year of adjustment and compromise

Jan 12, 2021 | 9:02 AM

The mayor of Lacombe is hoping to see some form of ‘normal’ gradually return to our lives over the course of 2021.

Grant Creasey says 2020 was a year of adjustment and compromise and was tough on everyone, but he’s proud of the resiliency shown by the city’s residents.

“The virus has affected all of our residents physically and mentally,” says Creasey. “It certainly brought about some challenges to be financially responsible. We were forced to lay off a number of workers which is not a decision that’s ever taken lightly because of the drastic ill effect that it has on people’s lives.”

Creasy suggests among those hardest hit at the City are those working in Recreation Services, who’ve been laid off for a second time during the pandemic.

“On a positive note there, we saw fit to keep their benefits in place throughout this time which I think is very appropriate. We value all of our staff and it’s always a balancing act between remaining responsible for those taxpayers that do pay our bills and looking after as best we are able, our employees which we value.”

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City of Lacombe CAO Matthew Goudy says 50 City employees were laid off in the spring due to the pandemic, but all were brought back at some point over the summer. Another 30 were laid off though during this latest round of public health restrictions.

Creasy says council and City staff have still been able to achieve several initiatives over the past 12 months.

“One of the biggest ones for me is the fact that we have remained very responsible and true to our word financially. There’s always decisions that are certainly not easy ones, but that overall theme I think still holds true in spite of the hardships that everyone of us has went through.”

Goudy, meantime, notes a nearly 300 per cent increase in commercial development permits over 2019, as of the end of October.

“It’s the highest commercial development and redevelopment that we’ve seen since 2016,” he shared. “When we shut down the pool for example, we used that as an opportunity to look at retiling, some of the painting and maintenance work, same in the arena. When we put out project tenders for repaving and some of our heavy construction work, the pricing that we got back was actually so good that we were able to go to council and expand the amount of work that we had intended to do.”

Capital projects in 2021, according to Goudy, include a new Public Works shop, new dog park, snow storage facility and more paving on the city’s main roads.

With the province’s COVID-19 vaccination program now underway, Goudy anticipates municipal operations to return to full capacity in the not-too-distant future.

“We have a strong financial outlook that gives me confidence that we’re going to be able to bring these employees back and get back to our normal service provision to the municipal residents without looking at significant tax increases or layoffs within the organization.”

Creasey agrees with that assertion, noting Lacombe’s taxes being kept at or below the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

“It’s a difficult time for many businesses and individuals in our community. When I speak with other mayors across the province and see some of the examples of some of the different approaches, the drastic raising of taxes and then lowering them before the next election, I hope is something that people can see through.”

With the next municipal election slated for October, Creasey confirms he will be seeking re-election.

He’s also encouraged by some positives that have happened during the pandemic, such as extra ice skating surfaces being established and record amounts of donations for many charitable organizations in the community.

“There is an extremely long list of very thoughtful things that our community has done to help one another and as a leader in the community, it just makes me feel pretty good and proud of the citizens that choose to make Lacombe their home.”