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Happy Holidays!
"Tis the season to enjoy time with family and friends and I want to start this
newsletter by wishing everyone the very best of the season.
Best wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy and Healthy 2010.
May the New Year bring you and your family joy and good fortune!
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 Budget 2010
On December 8, 2009 City Council unanimously passed the 2010 budget, meeting our target of a 3% tax increase for services and 2% for the neighbourhood renewal program - a long-term funding program that is getting us back on track in efforts to upgrade older neighbourhoods, while building a funding pool to ensure we stay on course.
We achieved $50 million in net savings in this budget from a combination of increased revenue, improved efficiencies and internal controls. Less than $7 million of the total net savings relates to program reductions so there will be minimal impact on services to citizens.
I am pleased that we were able to strike a balance with this budget. Our end result both respected that so many are facing financial challenges, and kept on course by delivering services that citizens need and want.
All of Council and our administration worked hard to draw a firm line with this budget. You can read more about our final results here: edmonton.ca/city_government/news/2009/18838.aspx
EXPO 2017 - Edmonton's time to shine
 The final issue I want to touch on this year is our prospective EXPO bid. When I think of our city's great potential, I see so much coming to life within this EXPO bid. Great cities are measured by their courage and boldness to think big and to dream into the future. The opportunity to welcome the world to visit our great city in the summer of 2017 - at North America's first EXPO in three decades - awaits Edmonton!
EXPO is a tremendous opportunity for all of us to help celebrate Canada's 150th birthday and will start an exciting new journey for Edmonton, Alberta and Canada.
This gathering of nations from around the world, often described as an "intellectual Olympics', provides the venue for Canada to share knowledge, showcase innovation and celebrate humanity.
Our proposed theme centres on our drive to create harmony between energy and our planet - there is no place better poised to lead this discussion than our City. It is a discussion that positions Alberta and Canada as innovators and leaders in a global movement to bring energy in all its forms into harmony and to help create a secure and sustainable future for our planet.
The draft site plan presents rich possibilities for an innovative University of Alberta South Campus and a redeveloped West Rossdale. This is a chance to build infrastructure that we need, on an excelled timeline, with the support of other orders of government.
As a welcoming, multicultural city full of dedicated volunteers and enthusiastic participants, Edmonton will be a mirror of what our communities can achieve together.
 With input from the community over the coming months, the theme and all bid components will be further developed and enhanced. A decision on Canada's bid city is expected in 2010, with a vote by delegates to the International Exhibitions Bureau in fall 2012. Now is the time to challenge Canadians to consider what hosting an EXPO might make possible.
Building our national bid together, as a community, is critical to winning so please visit edmontonexpo2017.com and get involved today!
As a final note on 2009, thanks for subscribing to this news and for taking the time to keep up to date on city activities.
Once again, best wishes for the holiday season. |
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