City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 29 Meeting?

After a solid month of hard work and preparation, the moment for hard decisions has arrived. At this special meeting of council, the horseshoe will walk though the minefields of affordability and need in order to reach a decision on the 2024-2027 multiyear budget that’s unlikely going to please anyone. Let’s lay it all out on the table with this preview of what may not actually be the final budget meeting (if a certain someone uses a “V” word). Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 29 Meeting?”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for November 22, 2023

Sick of the budget yet? Hope not! You can click here for the amended agendas from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for November 22, 2023”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 22 Meeting?

Surprise! It’s an additional meeting of city council that you didn’t know was going to happen when the month began. Per the request of council themselves, staff have prepared a list of recommendations about further cuts to the 2024-2027 multiyear budget to get the tax burden further down and thus get closer to something more affordable for Guelph residents. Still, will there be an appetite to enact any of the options? Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 22 Meeting?”

This Week at Council: The Crunchier Than Normal Budget Crunch

It’s still about a month before the budget process really gets underway, but there’s already a warning that things are going to be tricky for council if they have a hope of balancing all that they want to do while making it affordable of the people of Guelph. Bill 23 has dug us a deep hole and the crises of affordability and housing are making that hole even more difficult to fill, but is all hope lost? Perhaps there’s an answer in this council workshop… Continue reading “This Week at Council: The Crunchier Than Normal Budget Crunch”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 10, 2023

Budget season begins unofficially with an informative workshop. You can click here for the amended agendas from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 10, 2023”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on October 11?

At this special meeting of Guelph City Council, they will give thanks for having a knowledgeable and adaptable finance staff. Members of council will stuff themselves with facts and figures about the budget mechanics, the pressures on the budget for the next four years and some of the challenges on the part of the City as we enter the next budget cycle. It’s time to get smarter, and that’s not talking turkey! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on October 11?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 20?

In September we count down to the end of the month and the newest national holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. On September 30, we’re meant to stop and think about the impacts of five centuries of colonialism on Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, and take steps to make a better future we all share equally. Council is getting a early start with a highly educational workshop meeting. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 20?”

This Week at Council: D.C. Comments

This week at city council was all about the development charges. First, council heard the story of D.C.s, what they pay for and why they’re collected, and then they looked to the future. The DC Background Study, the means by which the new DCs are determined, got thrown a curveball with all the recent legislative changes, but the work still got done and the second part of this week’s meeting was the direct result of that. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: D.C. Comments”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meetings for July 19, 2023

Tonight, it’s back-to-back meetings about development charges! You can click here and here for the amended agendas from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meetings for July 19, 2023”

This Week at Council: Planning and Housing 101

It’s been a couple of months since we’ve had something really juicy at a planning meeting to chew on, and boy was there ever something juicy at this planning meeting. Everyone’s favourite proposed student development was back at council again for the planning meeting, and after that, there was a council workshop that promised to be the first of many steps that will help council get their heads around the housing crisis. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Planning and Housing 101”