Layers in the morning and windows down in the afternoon – welcome to March and spring in Lethbridge. The first topic I want to address this month is the wonderful recent news from the Lethbridge Police Service that crime in our city decreased by 16 per cent in 2024.
City Council has approved a move on Tuesday, that saves more than $1.4 million in loan interest and initiates next steps in meeting the new provincially mandated recycling regulations.
City Council was provided an update from administration on the limited funding available in the next Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the planning challenges that lie ahead.
The future of Lethbridge Parks is now. At its meeting Tuesday afternoon, City Council adopted the 2024 Parks Master Plan. The document directs the planning and care of Lethbridge's parks for the next 15 to 20 years. It replaces the previous plan created in 2007.
The City of Lethbridge was pleased last week to learn about a specific area of the 2025 Alberta Budget: the restoration of Grants in Place of Taxes (GIPOT). Properties belonging to the Government of Alberta are exempt from municipal taxation. To account for this, municipalities are paid a GIPOT on eligible properties within their boundaries. Starting in 2025-26, GIPOT funding will be paid to municipalities at 75 per cent of the property tax amount that would be owed, equal to $55 million. Next year it will increase to 100 per cent.
I was pleased to attend yesterday’s budget announcement in Edmonton, on behalf of Lethbridge City Council. One of our biggest priorities remains the need for future expansion plans for water and wastewater, so it was encouraging to see that Budget 2025 allocates $520 million across three years to support small and mid-sized municipalities in building or enhancing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
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