Nenshi 2011 Budget Recommendations Final

8/8/2019 Nenshi 2011 Budget Recommendations Final

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Mayor's Budget Recommendations

Administration proposal C2010-71 (6.7% tax increase)

Business Unit/

Department/

Program

Proposal Budget

Impact

Comments

All Accept all

proposals in

6.7% package,

except below

($47,400,000) We will start with the administration proposal as a base.

Transportation Access

Calgary Extra

MaintainFunding

$500,000 Program is vital to mobility-impaired peoples quality of life, at a relatively lowcost.

Transportation Roads. Snowand IceRemoval(SNIC)

Funding andReform ofSnow and IceRemoval

($5,000,000) Council is being asked to increase the base budget before the pilot program hascovered an entire winter. The department, however, will still have $5 million leftover from the one-time funding for the pilot project by the end of 2011. Therefore,Council does not need to approve any additional funding for the remainder of the2010/2011 winter season.

Council can further recommend that it set aside $5,000,000 for the beginning of

the 2011/2012 winter, to be authorized at budget finalization in April, based upona report which is due to Council in early April (internal report: transportation withsupport from the Mayors office) to reform the SNIC program.

The figures here assume that Council will approve a $5 million increase for 2011,but this will be at Councils discretion in April.

TOTAL ($51,900,000) Equivalent to ~6.15% property tax increase


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Administration proposal C2010-72 (the $35 million buffet)

Business Unit/

Department/

Program

Proposal Budget

Impact

Comments

Group 1 Accept all cuts in

buffet

($4,625,000)

Group 2 Accept all cuts in

buffet except as

detailed below

($4,215,000)

2.3 Snow removal $2,000,000 See snow removal strategy in table above. Included here to avoid double-

counting.

2.8 Aldermanic

offices: restore FMC

and AUMA

funding

$100,000 Leave FMC and AUMA travel budgets as is; removing these items from already-

stretched aldermanic budgets will ensure that Aldermen will find it difficult to

attend conferences that are important for enhancing their performance as

members of Council.

Group 3 3.1 Animal and

bylaw services

($350,000) Cutting back on presence at major events can be accommodated.

3.2 Customer

Service and

Communications

(CSC)

($530,000) Given that this cut had no FTEs associated with it, it is safe to assume that CSC

can absorb without reducing 311 service to the public.

3.4 Roads ($810,000) Amendment to restore funding for Clean to the Core component (which includes

the goo crew and other maintenance programs), comprising 20% ($180,000) of

this item.

TOTAL FOR

THIS TABLE

($8,430,000)

Running Total

of all savings

($60,330,000) Equivalent to ~5.3% property tax increase


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Additional proposals recommended by the Mayor

Business Unit/

Department/

Program

Proposal Budget

Impact

Comments

DowntownCore FitnessFacility (770-018)

Eliminate City Hall

Gym

($1,696,000) Funded from pay-as-you-go capital budget, therefore available for mill rate

reduction. Private and non-profit fitness facilities are located near City Hall.

Transportation CalgaryTransitMonthlyPasses

Freeze low incomepass at 2010 level

$260,000 High priority to freeze low income pass. Why would we subject the lowest-income people to a rate hike higher than the overall mill rate increase inpercentage terms?

Limit regular adultfare increase to$88/month

$1,250,000 A 5.6% fare increase in a low-inflation environment is excessive. This cuts theincrease in half.

Transportation Park andRide

Eliminate Park andRide Fee, whileretaining paidmonthly reservedparking on 25% ofselected high

demand lots

$2,500,000 Total revenue loss is up to $4 million, but could recover up to $1,500,000 inrevenue from reserved $90 spaces on 25% of spots at certain high-demand lots.Revenue figure above has not been adjusted for any increased ridership resultingfrom elimination of the Park and Ride Fee, so budget impact is a worse-casescenario.

Mayors Office Reduce MayorsOffice Budget (inaddition to $33kalready proposed inreport C2010-72)

($107,000) Reductions in travel, external consultants, wages and vehicle allowance.Additional reductions are possible in 2012, after office is run for one year undernew model.

Aldermanic

Offices

Increase Aldermanic

communications

$140,000 As wards have grown, aldermanic communications budgets have not kept pace.

This modest increase will allow for one additional mail-out per ward, for


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budgets example.

All Decrease all budgets

across-the-board

($10,000,000) All departments will be asked to absorb an additional cut equal to a 1% property

tax increase, pro-rated by the size of the department. The following departments

will be exempt: Police (since Council approved the budget in the summer. If there

is appetite to reconsider this decision, we can discuss, but it will likely need 10votes), Fire (since they have already served up significant savings), Public Safety

Communications (since further investments are required to improve this service)

and Calgary Transit (since the public consultation process has made it very clear

that transit is a major priority). The cuts will be focused on managerial efficiencies

and savings, preserving front-line services wherever possible.

TOTAL FOR

THIS GROUP

($7,653,000)

Running total

of all savings

($67,983,000) Equivalent to ~4.5% property tax increase, or $4.50 per month for the average

house.


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Recommendations that have no impact on the mill rate

1. Innovation Fund. Authorize use of up to $4,000,000 from the Fiscal Stability Reserve for innovation and pilot projects at thediscretion of Council. I will be proposing the following uses for 2011, and invite others to submit ideas for the Innovation

Fund as well:

a. Express bus experiments, including one between downtown and the airport (Calgary Transits proposed 2011 budgetalready includes express style service from McKnight-Westwinds station to the airport) and a Brain Bus linking

campuses and hospitals, as well as immediate improvements to transit in SE Calgary.

b. Transformation of municipal government initiative, incorporating significant changes to how services are deliveredacross all departments, including development of new budgeting processes for the 2012-15 budget cycle and beyond.

2. E-services. The $11 million project for e-services in planning, development, and assessment (funded by reserve, not by thecurrent property tax) needs some review by Council given the public desire to improve the workflow and customer service in

these areas. A full business case and workplan should be presented to Council as soon as possible.

3. Event Stimulus Program. This is a new program funded through the Fiscal Stability Reserve, but few if any organizationsare relying on this money for 2011 festivals. Most festival budgets for 2011 will be set before the application deadline for this

program which is in March. I am proposing that applicants be able to apply in this round for 2012 funding, or that this money

go to other worthy cultural projects (e.g. activities around the 2012 Cultural Capital if successful.)

Issues where more information is required

1. The Information Technology capital budget, funded both by pay-as-you-go (which has a direct impact on the mill rate) andthe IT reserve (which does not), is a confusing array of different programs, some of which are not well-explained. For

example, the IT Development Pool (funded by the IT reserve) is supplemented by the IT Application Renewal Fund, funded

by pay-as-you-go, and the e-government fund, also funded by pay-as-you-go. I would recommend that Council request a full

report on IT Capital requirements, their history of growth, and what projects they fund, all compared to external benchmarks,

in early 2011.


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2. A report on the capital requirements of Customer Service and Communications would be welcome. In an age of low-costInternet desktop communications, setting up a series of dedicated video display terminals for emergency and employee

communications seems to be a bit outdated. A better understanding is required of how we can use open source and low-cost

technologies to accomplish similar objectives.

3. A number of members of Council have further requested a better understanding of all of the Citys communicationsactivities and how this budget has grown over the years, as well as how it has changed given the changes in the media

landscape and the advent of lower-cost communications tools. I would expect this to be a major part of the CSC 2012 plan.

Nenshi 2011 Budget Recommendations Final

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