March comes in like a lamb at city council. There’s nothing terrible controversial in this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda, assuming, of course, that no one wants to start a fight about trees. But this is Guelph, so always assume there will be a fight about trees, and along with that there will also be matters of audit and tax policy for the horseshoe to chew on. Let’s dive in to the agenda…!
NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at this meeting in-person or via tele-presense but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday March 1. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
CLOSED MEETING:
Corporate Cyber Security Assessment – This seems pretty straightforward, but because it’s a matter that involves “the security of the property of the municipality or local board” it has to be discussed in closed session.
2024 Property Tax Policy – As usual with the March Committee of the Whole meeting, council has to approve the new tax policy, which is basically how the tax levy increase passed at budget time is turned into what you see on your tax bill starting in June. For 2024, a single family detached property with a median value of $408,000 will see an additional 8.68 per cent on their tax bill, for a total increase of $380.25.
Private Tree Protection By-law Update: Key Issues and Options – This item is following up on one of the 42 recommendations approved by council this time last year about efforts to grow the tree canopy. Presented for committee here are four options for protecting trees on private property including, 1) keeping the bylaw as it is right now, 2) protecting trees at least 1o cm in diameter on 0.1 hectare properties instead of the 0.2 minimum, 3) protecting trees that are at least 20 cm in diameter on all private lots, and 4) some combination of two and three. Staff are also seeking some guidance on the next phases of public engagement including the regulation of replacement trees and compensation. The final version of the bylaw will come back for approval this time *next* year.
Internal Audit Work Plan 2024-2026 – Another March staple is the work plan for the Internal Audit team. There were five audits scheduled for 2023 and four were completed; work on the multi-year Enterprise Risk Management framework strategic initiative continues. So that one carries over and is one of five planned audits on the 2024 work plan, which includes Value-For-Money reviews. As directed by council in the multiyear budget, staff will review various services, the choice of which will be determined on a number of factors including departmental budget size, value to citizens where a review would have significance, availability of performance data, and departmental readiness. Staff are prepared to do two of these reviews every year.
Guelph Politico 