This Week at Council: No Raise, Except For Taxes

There were back-to-back meetings at Guelph City Council this week, and the topic at hand was money. At Committee of the Whole, council had to deal with their own money, or at least the money that the councillors in the next couple will be paid as remuneration came up for debate. Then, at the other meeting, the 2026 budget process came to a close with the seven shared services and local boards. Let’s dig into the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: No Raise, Except For Taxes”

RECAP: City Council Meeting for February 4, 2026

Coming to you more than two months later, it’s the rest of the budget! You can click here for the amended agenda 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for February 4, 2026”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the February 4, 2026 Meeting?

At the end of November when council finished the 2026 City of Guelph budget, it came with a big “To be continued…” sign. (Not literally.) This is the conclusion. At this special meeting of council, they will tackle the third of the budget that is generated, and in part controlled, by the seven local boards and shared services, but will there be the same wheeling and dealing that happened in November with the City portion? Here’s the preview! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the February 4, 2026 Meeting?”

RECAP: Budget for Rent Supplements Boosted at JSSLAC; 20 New Household Per Month Will Be Covered

It was a big meeting of the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee on Wednesday. With the final approval of the 2026 budget at hand, there was a who’s who of area social service agencies attending to make a case for spending a bit more to ensure that there’s funding for people who need rental supplements that will keep them housed and not make them another statistic. Did the committee for it? (Well, check out the spoiler in the headline.) Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Budget for Rent Supplements Boosted at JSSLAC; 20 New Household Per Month Will Be Covered”

MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 14, 2025

After taking December off, we’re heading back to Wellington County’s administration building for the first Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting for 2026. At this meeting, there will be many, many special guests on hand who want to discuss the big item on the agenda, which is the 2026 social services budget. Also look out for some follow-up on new projects, new initiatives, and a letter from the attorney general. Here’s the preview… Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 14, 2025”

RECAP: JSSLAC Hears That There’s Progress on Fighting Homelessness

It’s not great, it’s not even good, but it is getting better. That was the message from this month’s Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting as politicians and staff from both the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington got a couple of key updates about the response to homelessness. Along with that information, you can learn more about childcare changes, the 2025 budget and fighting hospital offload delays in this month’s recap! Continue reading “RECAP: JSSLAC Hears That There’s Progress on Fighting Homelessness”

MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for May 14, 2025

Members of Guelph city council and senior staff will once again go to the other side of downtown to sit with members of the County for this month’s Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee. What’s on the agenda? Assets and managing them, some new projects, plus an update on childcare funding, supporting people who were homeless through the winter, and a formal answer to a long-standing matter of interest. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for May 14, 2025”

RECAP: JSSLAC Gets the Point in Time Count and Gets Winter Update

It was a comparatively light agenda at the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting for February on Wednesday, good thing because some in attendance wanted to outrun an incoming winter storm. The primary focus was matters of housing, specifically the state of homelessness in the region. Committee heard about the December report on the winter response plan and the Point in Time Count, and now you can hear about them too with this recap! Continue reading “RECAP: JSSLAC Gets the Point in Time Count and Gets Winter Update”

MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 8, 2025

This February meeting of the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee will be a brief affair when compared to previous meetings, as this agenda will focus almost exclusively on housing files. As one construction projects wrap up, another one looks to get started, and then the committee will dig into reports on the present situation with unhoused people in the region, both short-term and long-term. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 8, 2025”

This Week at Council: Six Minutes and Five Seconds

So it was a short city council meeting this week. Really short. Good thing then that we have some unfinished business from last week’s council business, the Local Boards and Shared Services budget for 2025. The actual business of passing the budget was, itself, brief, but there was a lot explaining about what the budget is paying for, especially in the case of social services, the library, and the police. So let’s dig into two meetings for the price of one. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Six Minutes and Five Seconds”