By rdnewsNOW staff

Chickens, Police, Operating Budget & Plan

City Council: on the agenda, April 2

Apr 1, 2024 | 9:00 AM

The Tuesday, April 2, 2024 regular city council meeting will start with a two hour closed meeting at 9:30 a.m. City officials say the open portion of the council meeting will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.

The following items are on the agenda:

Chicken Bylaw Amendment 3517/A-2024

City Council is asked to give first reading to proposed amendments to the Chicken Bylaw, including:

• removal of the cap on the total number of licenses in the city, which currently sits at 102 (based on the population) and has a waitlist of 140;
• increased fee for Chicken Licences from $27 to $36.15 per licence; and
• addition of a schedule for fines and penalties to ensure the proper tools are in place to address nuisance concerns if needed, though there have been few complaints regarding urban chickens.

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One licence is permitted per household and the limit of four hens per licence remains in place.

In the absence of a holistic Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, which would address dogs, cats, chickens and other types of animals, City officials say these immediate changes to the Chicken Bylaw will address public feedback and stakeholder consultation while offering community benefit with low operational impact. Officials say the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw implementation is paused until The City’s next budget approval process due to its financial implications.

2024 Annual Policing Plan:

Red Deer RCMP will present the 2024-2026 Annual Policing Plan (APP) which determines the top policing priorities for the community over the next two years. The City says the APP runs from April 1 to March 31 of each year. In developing each APP, The City and RCMP together conduct public consultation to understand community concerns and priorities as they relate to crime and safety. The APP is then developed using real-time crime data, public feedback, council consultation to understand community priorities and areas of focus.

Operating Budget and 3 Year Operating Plan:

City Council provided interim approval of the 2024 operating and capital budget in January 2024, and approval in principle for the 2025-2027 Operating Plan. Having completed updates and reviews following these approvals, City officials say administration is requesting approval of the Adopted budget and 3 Year Operating Plan. Officials say the Adopted budget is used to derive the tax requirement for the Tax Rate Bylaw that is presented in April of each year.

Agendas can be found at www.reddeer.ca/citycouncil City Council meetings can be attended in person or watched via the following link: http://meeting.reddeer.ca.

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