Calgarians make a better community through giving

While I usually just write a monthly column in the Calgary Herald, I annually write a special column in support of the Herald's Christmas Fund. Here is the full version of the story which ran on December 26, 2011:

Over the past year, I have been touched by the generosity of Calgarians - bearing witness to many acts of giving: of time and money with acts both big and small.

I have not, however, been surprised. Long before being elected mayor, I knew that Calgarians have always reached out to help those in need.

Some 85 per cent of us give to charity every year, and our rates of volunteerism are very high.

And these acts build a better community.

That's why, earlier this autumn, we launched 3 Things for Calgary (www.3thingsforcalgary.ca). It's a simple program that asks Calgarians to do three things, big or small, for their community over the course of this winter. Perhaps even more important, we want people to share their three things and encourage at least three other people to do three things of their own. By the time the tulips come up, we could have three million acts of community building, which will make Calgary a much better place to live and work.

Of course, this does not mean that government is reneging on our responsibilities. In fact, your city government takes the issue of poverty very seriously, even though, strictly speaking, it is not a municipal government responsibility. Earlier this year, council started the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative, for which I have high hopes. For the first time, we are bringing together Calgarians from all walks of life to have a serious discussion about poverty in the city. We need to determine how we can each do a better job in sharing opportunity with all of our fellow citizens.

But governments cannot do it alone. We need to give our neighbours a helping hand in times of need. And that's why I encourage you to give to the Calgary Herald Christmas Fund - it can even be one of your three things! As I have often said, it's important to give, but it is as important to give well.

The Christmas Fund is a carefully curated project that includes some of the very best charitable organizations in Calgary. The dozen agencies include some well-known ones, such as Inn From the Cold and the Drop-In Centre, along with some with which you may not be as familiar, such as Fresh Start or 1835 House.

What they have in common is that they are all effective in their fields, and they are all doing incredible work. From Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids (which I have often called one of the most innovative organizations in Calgary) to the YWCA (with its Sherriff King Home that is there at the most difficult time in its clients’ lives) each organization tirelessly works with people to help them out of poverty, to lift them from addiction, to shelter them from violence and abuse.

It’s worth remembering that, even while many Calgarians have had a good year, many have not. The growth in demand for our Food Bank, for example, was the second-highest in Canada this year, and it’s only with the generosity of Calgarians that the Food Bank was able to meet that demand.

I was at an event sponsored by Calgary Transit last month, raising money for the Food Bank at a grocery store in an upscale neighbourhood. A couple of the cashiers at the store came out to say hello, and mentioned that they had been former Food Bank clients. More than one shopper told me that they had used the Food Bank when they needed it as well.

Indeed, most Food Bank clients only use the service two or three times in their lives. But it’s critical that the service be there those two or three times when it is really needed.

And helping make sure that service is there is one act to help build our community. Please give what you can. Fortunately, I know you will—we are Calgarian after all.

Thank you for all you do and have done to make Calgary better this year. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and best wishes for the holiday season to you and to your families.

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Mayor Nenshi's look forward to 2012

Friends:

2011 has been an amazing year. As we’ve discussed before, it’s been a very productive twelve months for your City Council, and for Calgary.

The new year is shaping up to be just as busy. City Council has set a very active direction for Calgary with the newly-passed budget and business plan and Council’s Fiscal Plan for Calgary. The excitement and optimism that defines Calgarians is also a foundation for the vital future we see ahead.

While I will continue to work on achieving the 12 Better Ideas I set out in the last election campaign, there are three specific areas I want to prioritize:

1. Changing the rules of the game when it comes to the province and municipalities.I will continue to work with the province to change the way the City is governed, including consideration of a city charter. It makes no sense that we have the same rules governing Calgary as a small village. Changes in this area will also allow municipal government to take more responsibility for the projects we build and the taxes we collect rather than figuratively and literally passing the buck.
   
2. Reforming the planning and development system at The City.
   I think it’s critical that we engage citizens, industry and the City Administration on how we can better build the city we've envisioned in ImagineCalgary and Plan It. Our goal is to simplify the Planning and Development process to make it more customer-friendly while maintaining the high standards called for in Plan It.
   
3. Creating a comprehensive long-term plan for Calgary Transit to give a clear vision for where we are going and how we will get there.
   We need to have a cohesive long term capital plan for our transit system. I think it’s also important that we develop new operating and customer service strategies to create a higher performing system so that Calgary Transit is the preferred choice, and not the last choice, for Calgarians.

Making Calgary better, of course, is not just for politicians and City of Calgary staff. Every day, thousands upon thousands of volunteers give of their time and money to make their streets, neighbourhoods, and city better. If you’re one of those many volunteers, thank you for what you do--you are the inspiration for a new program created by another group of volunteers (the Mayor’s Civic Engagement Committee). 3 Things for Calgary asks all Calgarians to do at least three things that make their city better, but the real challenge is to encourage at least three other people to do the same.

During this holiday season, our minds often turn to giving. Why not have it turn to the three things you can do for Calgary? As I’ve met with Calgarians over the past few months, I have given them some homework (I used to be a professor, after all): to do three things and get three people doing three things as well over the winter. By spring, we might have just done over 3 million acts to make Calgary better.

2012 will be an amazing year for Calgary. We’ll be Canada’s Cultural Capital, and we will have a lot to celebrate, including the 100th anniversary of the City of Calgary Recreation, the Calgary Public Library, and (of course!) the Calgary Stampede.

In the meantime, enjoy your holiday season. I wish you time with family and friends surrounded by warmth and love.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and may the new year treat you well.

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Mayor Nenshi Reads: The Night Before Christmas

And now time for a bit of holiday fun!

Last year, Mayor Nenshi started what we hope will become a holiday tradition by reading Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas on CityTV. This year, we took a late-night break from the Mayor's busy holiday schedule to record him reading Clement Clarke Moore's holiday classic A Visit from Santa Claus (also known as The Night Before Christmas or Twas the Night Before Christmas).

So, please, pour yourself a hot chocolate, get comfortable, and gather the kids. We hope you enjoy our little gift.

From all of us at the Mayor's Office: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year!

More communication for the Report Impaired Drivers program

We're in the thick of the holiday season--that time when we try to spend lots of time with our friends and family. Unfortunately, it's also the time when we hear more about impaired drivers making our roads less safe for all of us. Thankfully, the Calgary Police Service is out in full force helping to keep dangerous drivers off our streets.

And all Calgarians can help keep our streets safer too. The Report Impaired Drivers (RID) program reminds all of us that all we need to do is call 911 if we think we see an impaired driver. Drinking and driving puts people's lives and property at risk, so identifying the signs can help stop drunk drivers before it's too late. Please click on the link to see a list of signs of an impaired driver.

This important program is an ongoing partnership between the Calgary Police Service, Public Safety Communications (911), and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). You may have already seen some of the RID signs around town.

In November, Mayor Nenshi asked administration to explain how we currently advertise RID and for recommendations to increase communication about this important community program. For the record, here's the memo from the General Manager of Transportation with his recommendations (which Mayor Nenshi supports and expects to be implemented immediately):

In response to the question posed by his worship Mayor Nenshi during the 2011 November 07 Council Meeting question period, the information and recommendations below are provided on the Report Impaired Drivers (RID) community signage. 

The existing signage program consists of:

• 8 highly visible oversized signs; and
• Small street signs installed on street light poles.

The 8 large signs are considered most effective due to their high visibility. In addition, these signs are rotated through difference parts of Calgary to improve their effectiveness.
The small signs are strategically positioned at the primary access/egress of communities. The small signs are deemed to have modest value due to the prolific nature of similar small street signs. 

Administration recommends:

• increasing the number of large signs (+2-3);
• rotating the sings throughout the year, rather than only during the focus months;
• use variable message signs at peak periods (Christmas/long weekends) if they are not otherwise tasked; and
• leverage other social media channels (Twitter/Facebook) as a reminder tool.

The large signs are relatively expensive and the Roads Department will investigate funding for these signs through Alberta Traffic Safety Office grants, Calgary Police Service fine revenues, The Alberta Motor Association and MADD.

So you can expect to see more about RID in the near future. In the mean time, please call 911 whenever you see a potential impaired driver.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

- Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team

Mayor Nenshi's meetings: November 2011

Below is a list of external meetings hosted by the Mayor during the month of November 2011. November was a busy month for City Council with budget deliberations and many internal meetings (which are not detailed here).

For an explanation of why this list exists and who's on it, please visit our post about highlighting accountability in the Mayor's Office.

November's meetings included:

• Harry Harker, High River - November 1, 2011
• Craig Burrows, Encana - November 1, 2011
• Sean McGowan, St. Joan of Arc School - November 2, 2011
• Catherine Yuen, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office - November 2, 2011
• Peter Kwok, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office - November 2, 2011
• Gloria Lo, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office - November 2, 2011
• Marlene Lanz, Metis Nation of Alberta Region 3 - November 8, 2011
• Joseph Pimlott, Metis Nation of Alberta Region 3 - November 8, 2011
• Ales Michalevic, Rights and Democracy - November 29, 2011
• Marco Nevarro-Genie, Rights and Democracy - November 29, 2011
• Jean Francois Gagnon, Rights and Democracy - November 29, 2011
• Patricia Daigle, Rights and Democracy - November 29, 2011

- Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team

Media Release: Mayor Nenshi joins with business community to cut red tape

Mayor Naheed Nenshi joined with business organizations today to launch the second phase of the Cut Red Tape initiative. This Council-supported initiative is designed to collect and implement solutions that will make it easier for citizens and businesses to interact with The City of Calgary.
“Through this initiative, doing business with The City of Calgary can become even better—and that includes getting work done faster and with the least amount of fuss,” said Mayor Nenshi. “And if we’re serious about improving customer service and reducing red tape, it makes sense to ask the customer directly about their own experience. We want to make Calgary the best place in Canada for a business to start and flourish.”

Starting today and running until January 31, 2012, entrepreneurs and business representatives can visit www.cutredtape.ca or call 3-1-1 to submit their suggestions to cut red tape.

For Phase Two of the Cut Red Tape initiative, Mayor Nenshi brought together a host of business advocacy organizations to collaborate on solutions to cut red tape. This involves asking the various organization memberships for red tape solutions and determining, as a committee, the next steps for implementing short, medium, and long-term recommendations.

“We truly appreciate the opportunity to work with Mayor Nenshi and The City to find real and lasting solutions to control municipal red tape. I look forward to offering advice and sharing the perspective of our members as this process unfolds,” said Richard Truscott, Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business—one of the Cut Red Tape partner organizations. “If we can work together to find meaningful ways to get entrepreneurs back to running their businesses and doing what they love to do instead of grappling with municipal red tape, then we will have succeeded.”

Phase One of the Cut Red Tape initiative was launched in March 2011 and included asking City of Calgary employees what they felt could be done to improve customer service at The City of Calgary by cutting red tape. More than 180 submissions were received over two weeks and a handful of recommendations are being implemented.

To submit a suggestion to cut red tape, or learn more about the program, visit www.cutredtape.ca.

Cut Red Tape Phase Two Partners

Building Operators and Managers Association
Business Revitalization Zones and CBiZ
Calgary Economic Development
Calgary Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Canadian Home Builders Association, Calgary Region
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association
NAIOP Calgary - Commercial Real Estate Development Association
Progressive Group for Independent Business
Urban Development Institute
Alberta Professional Planners Institute
Alberta Association of Architects

- Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team

Media statement: Mayor Nenshi on Occupy Calgary judgement

Today, the Honourable Chief Justice Neil Wittmann of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta ruled that Occupy Calgary must remove all “structures, tents, shelters, objects, and things owned, constructed, maintained, placed, or occupied by them” from Olympic Plaza by 2pm on Friday, December 9, 2011. This decision means that The City can continue to enforce its Parks Bylaw throughout Calgary.

This is good news. Throughout the nearly 60 days of this encampment, city officials have worked hard to balance the competing rights of protest and full access to public space. Emotions on both sides of this debate have run high. But, as I have said: this is the essence of democracy and sometimes democracy is messy.

As in other Canadian cities, a clear ruling such as this ensures we can move forward as a City and as a community that values our public spaces and our Charter freedoms. This outcome has always been our goal—it peacefully resolves the Occupy situation while also reinforcing our Bylaws.

I want to thank the many City of Calgary employees who have worked hard to manage this situation so well. In particular, employees with the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Animal and Bylaw Services, Calgary Police Service, Parks, Recreation, Law, and supporting departments have done an admirable job. They have acted with the utmost professionalism and restraint that was even noticed and commended by Chief Justice Wittmann. Their reasonable actions represent who we are as Calgarians, and I am proud to call them my colleagues.

It was also the work of City of Calgary employees and The Calgary Homeless Foundation that ensured Calgary was the first jurisdiction in Canada to negotiate a peaceful resolution to an Occupy encampment [at St. Patrick’s Island].

As we move forward, I must echo the words of Chief Justice Wittmann: ‘I hope that in the days that follow... both sides continue to act in a measured, conscientious, and peaceful manner.’

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi

City's budget reflects Calgarian priorities

I write a monthly column in the Calgary Herald. Here is my December article:

OK, I will admit that I might have complained a bit over the past week about the sheer volume of city council’s budget and business plan approval meetings. Seven days of debate can take a lot out of a person.

But as long as those meetings were, they were also remarkable. Can you imagine another level of government having open hearings where all department directors appear, live on TV and the web, to talk about their plans for serving citizens and the associated costs?

This was, of course, only the culmination of a year-long process of engagement with Calgarians on what they expect from their city and how we should pay for it. More than 24,000 Calgarians participated in the process, giving us the gift of their thoughts and ideas.

While some of the coverage of the budget debate focused on the horse race who-wins-who-loses stuff of partisan politics, and there were even stories about my psychological state of mind — I checked with my mother, and she confirmed that I should ensure a nice breakfast before meetings if I will be dealing with cranky people — Calgarians were more interested in the decisions we made.

(And, for the record: yes, all members of council still get along; yes, we still eat lunch together; and yes, the tone is very different from the previous council. People are listening to one another and collaborating on solutions across all artificial political divides.)

Council worked to pull together a plan that reflected what we heard from Calgarians: a desire to hold the line on taxes while preserving and investing in the services that people value.

It’s certainly true that I was not pleased with every decision that council made. In particular, I felt that the Calgary Police Service, as our largest single budget, should also find some efficiency in the order of about 1.5 per cent on a $300-million budget. I was pleased that the police service brought forth a plan to become more efficient without touching front-line service, but a majority of my council colleagues disagreed.

I also felt that we should have given Premier Alison Redford some time to fulfil her election promise of better police funding before we decided to pay for the hiring of new police officers out of the property tax base.

Taken together, these changes to the police budget added up to about $1 per month for the average household, or three-tenths of a per cent of the total city budget.

The rest of the budget, I think, strikes the right balance. City spending is increasing by about 2.7 per cent (well below the rate of inflation, plus growth), meaning that we had to find a number of efficiencies — over $100 million worth — without impacting city services.

We’ve also given the green light to a new zero-based budgeting review process that will start early in the new year that should result in even more efficiencies over time.

Our residential property taxes remain among the very lowest in Canada. And, while this was not the time for major increases in spending, we are investing in improvements to transit (we are, of course, opening the first new LRT line in a generation in 2013), snow removal (where the higher level of service we experimented with last year will be maintained, and we’ll stop using the road maintenance budget to supplement the snow budget in heavy snow years) and parks (where we’ll see a long-awaited refresh of Bowness Park and a major investment in off-leash dog parks).

The big thing about this budget process, though, has been how it highlighted some of the structural concerns we face. To begin with, only eight cents of every tax dollar you pay goes to the city. The other 92 cents go to the provincial and the federal governments. Furthermore, the city’s tax take is almost entirely in the form of the unfair, regressive property tax, which does not take into account ability to pay.

And, as we saw with the federal government’s sudden refusal to partially fund recreation centres in Calgary, our financial fate too often lies somewhere else. While it is the federal government’s prerogative to spend our federal tax money (notwithstanding that Calgary taxpayers send $10 billion more to Ottawa each year than we receive in all federal benefits), to do so in such a capricious way, without any explanation to Calgary citizens, is unfair.

The solution here is not just to reverse the rec centre decision (and, if it was really an error of two federal bodies miscommunicating, as one member of parliament has implied, why are the citizens of Calgary on the hook for $3.1 million?), but to fundamentally change how cities are funded. But that’s something we’ll speak more about in 2012.

Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year for Calgary. And, you know what? 2012 will be even better.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone, and we’ll see you back on this page in January!

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi