(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

Council chambers

Red Deer city council briefs: Westerner update, budget review and code of conduct bylaw delays

Nov 15, 2023 | 12:40 PM

At their meeting on Monday, Red Deer city council discussed an update on the Westerner agreement, and postponement of their multi-year budget review and Code of Conduct Bylaw amendment implementation.

WESTERNER UPDATE

Council received an update about the relationship agreement between The City and the Westerner Exhibition Association (WEA).

While normally presented once a year, the City made a commitment to provide an interim update this fall to ensure council is aware of the activities related to WEA.

This March, council approved various recommendations to help the Westerner regain financial sustainability and meet timelines for their existing $19 million loan agreement.

mentzelopoulos fires back

Alberta health minister files statement of defence in relation to AHS procurement scandal

2h ago

SCHOOL MODERNIZATIONS

Red Deer Public identifies three-year capital plan priorities

3h ago

Applied research

RDP holds fourth Annual Research Showcase

4h ago

READ: Red Deer city council helps Westerner Exposition Association towards financial sustainability

The WEA was given a $1 million contingency fund, similar to a line of credit, to be accessed only after they fully expended their CIBC line of credit. Administration stated that in October 2023, the WEA requested $500,000 to be withdrawn from the fund due to incurring expenses in advance of the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) that took place in November.

Although the WEA was also given a five-year postponement on their loan payments, they finished the 2022/23 season better than expected and made a payment of $235,309 this June.

After reviewing the Westerner Exposition Association Act, the City says that despite the tax exemption provision in the Act, areas of Westerner Park associated with the Class B liquor license are taxable under current legislation. As a result, they state they are required to tax the liquor-serving areas in 2024 with a financial impact to the WEA being approximately $11,000 per year in municipal, education, and requisitions.

Allowing time for Westerner Park’s new CEO Shelly Flint to settle into her role, the City says work on the Westerner Park Master Plan Update will begin in 2024.

2024 MULTI-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW

Originally scheduled for this November 20-23, the 2024 budget review will now take place on January 23-26, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Mike Olesen, General Manager of Growth and Finance, said the decision to postpone the review, while not common, will allow the City more time to ensure they have accurate and complete financial information from 2023 before they confirm plans for the 2024 year.

“There is certainly new information on particular files that will impact budget and, at the same time, it does include things that we maybe did better on than we’ve anticipated. So, we’re hoping to balance that out as best as possible but certainly, in this economy and [with] some of the challenges that we’re facing with some of the files that we have, [it’s] important to make sure that we adjust for those as they come,” he said.

He added that more information will come for the public, as well as the draft budgets, released at least three weeks prior to council deliberation.

CODE OF CONDUCT BYLAW AMENDMENT

This September, council approved a new Code of Conduct with an implementation date of December 1, 2023. The bylaw introduces the role of ethics advisor/integrity commissioner.

READ: Red Deer city council adopts new Code of Conduct Bylaw

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the role was posted on the Alberta Purchasing Connection platform on November 2 with a closing date of November 23.

The City states council will select candidates on December 4 and interview them on December 12.

As a result, administration requested that council delay the implementation of the new bylaw to February 1, 2024, to allow enough time to complete the procurement process and for the bylaw amendments to be effective.

Lisa Perkins, Director of Corporate Services for the City, says they will only have information regarding how many candidates, if any, have applied to the RFP after the closing date.

—-

Download the rdnewsNOW mobile app on Google Play and the Apple App Store for all the latest updates on this and other stories.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.