(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

NEW COMMITTEE, ZONING AMENDMENTS, ETC.

Red Deer city council wraps up for 2024

Dec 16, 2024 | 7:38 PM

December 16 marked the final regular meeting of Red Deer’s city council for 2024 and they finished with a bang, tackling zoning amendments, the creation of a new committee, an updated elections process and more.

Zoning Bylaw amendments

City council unanimously approved first reading of a Zoning Bylaw amendment that introduces a new direct control (DC) zone that would allow for the development of house suites in duplexes on a case-by-case basis, if passed.

Additionally, first reading of a rezoning application that would change 34 Rutherford Drive from residential duplex zone R-D to a DC zone was also approved.

The proposal was made to allow the development of house suites in duplexes at certain locations within the city. Under the current bylaw and zoning practices, house suites are restricted to houses.

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Long term financial plan

Council accepted a report providing an update on the City’s long-term business and financial systems plan, which should outline how it can evolve to a more mature financial state.

“It’s clear that meaningful changes are essential for the City to achieve a strong and stable financial position,” said Mike Olesen, general manager of growth and finance. “Advancing our financial governance, systems, and processes is critical to reaching these goals. Both council and administration recognize the importance of the long-term business and financial systems plan, which serves as a vital roadmap for ensuring our fiscal future.”

The plan will analyze the City’s current financial state, forecast potential future scenarios and recommend steps to reach council’s desired outcomes. Ideally, it will provide insights and strategies to strengthen financial management and prepare the City for its next phase of growth.

Areas the plan will focus on include:

• Future-focused financial modeling in an effort to anticipate long-term needs.
• Assessments of policies, structures and resources.
• Comprehensive financial risk profiling to understand challenges.
• Development of a financial scorecard to track performance against certain metrics.
• Evaluation of financial reporting and digital systems.

The City says it will head the project with the support of a consultant, KPMG, and progress will be made in phases, with completion scheduled for the end of Q3 in 2025.

While work already started on this through the novel and transparent approach to budget we saw this year, phase one will begin in January. First, KPMG and the City will further discuss the scope and vision for the project and Red Deer’s future before moving to phase two, where its current financial state will be analyzed.

A one-time amount of $250,000 to fund the project was approved in the 2023 budget and was carried over to 2024, and now to 2025.

Committee of the Whole

In a unique case, council passed first, second and third reading of an amended procedure bylaw outlining the purpose and creation of a new committee, the Committee of the Whole (COTW).

This new committee is intended to be more like a fireside chat, a less formal setting where councilllors can exchange ideas and share what they’ve learned from the separate committees they serve on. The intention is to foster creativity and discussion amongst council in a new context, not to duplicate the work done during council meetings; there will be no public hearings or bylaws passed during COTW meetings.

The first COTW meeting is set for February 5, 2025, and will occur monthly from that point on, with the exception of August and December.

Elections Bylaw

Council unanimously passed second and third reading of an updated Elections Bylaw for the upcoming 2025 municipal election.

Some amendments were made to the bylaw, including:

• Increased number of nomination signatures needed (50 per councillor and 100 per Mayoral candidate)
• Voting hours will remain as 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., rather than starting at 9 a.m.
• Fax has been removed as a method for requesting special ballots, and special ballots are not available to any voter unable to utilize advance polls or election day polls

Other amendments were made in response to new stipulations outlined by the provincial government in Bill 20 earlier this year, including mandating hand-counted ballots and banning electronic tabulators, and creating and maintaining a Permanent Electors Registry.

Read more: New municipal election rules could lead to increased cost and processing time

Councillors Vesna Higham and Kraymer Barnstable expressed discontent with the bylaw, with Higham clarifying that her vote of approval was made under “duress,” given the province’s compulsion regarding ballot counting.

Community Revitalization Levy

Administration shared a report with council on the potential use of community revitalization levies (CRL) and determined that Red Deer doesn’t currently have suitable projects it could be implemented for.

CRLs are tools available to municipalities which stimulate neighbourhood revitalization by redirecting property tax revenue increases to fund infrastructure improvement.

They are also highly regulated and require significant resources, and the benefit comes when the value of the area significantly increases above its baseline, the report says.

Ultimately, it was determined that no current capital projects are in an ideal position for increasing value significantly through a CRL and that using one could reduce construction growth in other parts of the city. Administration said it will revisit CRL’s potential as a tool as the 10-Year Capital Plan moves forward.