As promised, here are the first answers to the questions I posed to Red Deer First candidates. These answers come courtesy of candidate Bob Bevins and are unaltered from his original email (except where I put in a colon next to ‘Answer’). My thoughts and comments follow the answers in italics.

 

Fiscal Responsibility:

How will Red Deer ensure a stable, and large enough, source of revenue to cover all necessary costs, or future costs, without having to increase debt if tax increases are limited to growth plus inflation?

Answer:   One way is to increase the tax base go out and be a promoter to get new business to locate to red deer and look at some programs and decide are they that important right now to borrow money for when we have real needs today

This is based on the hope that enough new, and large enough, business could be attracted to Red Deer to make a definite contribution. However, given that outside of the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone there is no business tax in the city, this would likely lead to very minimal contributions other than property taxes. Given that a lot of businesses are drawn to Calgary or Edmonton as major business hubs in the province, one would have to consider how much promotion would be required to attract a business/multiple businesses here versus the actual tax benefit.

The second part of the statement isn’t entirely clear, but I’d gauge it to mean examine spending on city programs, determine whether money being spent is being spent in a financially sound and responsible way, and whether some of those funds could be diverted to other, higher priority issues or projects.

Will cost comparison studies be used to determine the methods used for a long term debt reductions strategy, or are the two issues separate entities?

Answer :  I think it would be a good exercise to use some cost comparison studies, but that is not practical for some services in the city

This skirts the question, and instead comes across as saying that cost comparison studies are ok sometimes, but not all the time. It’s true that Cost/Benefit studies aren’t always applicable to public services, but the question was whether these studies would be used to identify debt reduction strategies, not the practicality of the studies themselves.

Will cost comparison studies focus on all city services, or focused on a limited number? What do you personally feel is the appropriate amount of financial and/or city resources to devote to these studies?

Answer:  A limited number depending on how big the department or project  being studied My first approach would be a review within the department or project, the study cost would be determined by the scope and size of the work.

Identifying that these studies would be focused is a good approach, I think. It will allow for deficiencies to be easily identified in certain aspects of city service delivery without turning into an overall assessment of city operations. The one uncertainty that would remain regardless, is how much the study would cost. This would, of course, rely on how it was done, by whom it was completed, and as stated by Mr. Bevins, the size and scope of the work needed.

How will you personally solicit public input and opinions in order to determine if any funds will be released to a special interest group? If no consensus can be reached through community input, how will you approach the funding request?

Answer   that is a broad question, my short answer is hold public meetings in community centers all over the city and if there is no consensus vote for what I believe is in the best interest of the city residents.

This approach won’t work for a large portion of the population due to work, family, activity schedules. Certainly, there will be a number of people who are able to attend, but holding meetings across the city is only one way to solicit information. Another contention here is; what happens if the same people show up to every meeting and lobby for one standpoint? I’m surprised there was no mention of electronic communication here, seeing as how it’s a major point under the RDF Transparency & Accountability platform. There’s an interesting conflict at play here; traditional community involvement (ex: public meetings) versus social media involvement. Reading comments from RDF candidates, it seems like most of them are very unfamiliar with the social media options they have, or how to use them to their advantage. This is unfortunate, since the younger segment of the voting population would be more than happy to interact on Twitter or Facebook, since they can ask their questions and read information on their terms instead of having to make time to go to an actual meeting.

The second part of the answer is a bit strange, in that it makes it clear that Mr. Bevins is able to determine what’s best for the community on his own after RDF candidates have repeatedly said they’ll do what Red Deer citizens want them to do. Unilaterally taking a stand on an issue in ‘the best interest of the city residents’ is a big reason why people become frustrated with politicians. I’d wager that more people would like to see their councilors attempt to build consensus for an issue rather than make a decision for them.

Will regular budget reviews be by calendar date, or done when any large spending is planned? How will the City Manager and Chief Financial Officer be involved in this process? Are you confident that regular, entire budget reviews can be completed quickly and not risk delaying any planned projects?

Answer: both  and the city manager and cfo will be involved yes it can be done quickly

My first question here is, why would a full budget review be done at specific calendar dates AND whenever large spending is planned? One of the first issues I can see here is; what constitutes ‘large spending’? What dollar amount would it take to trigger a full, not partial, budget review. The entire 2013 city budget (capital + operating) is about $392 million. The suggestion is to review every dollar of it at regular intervals and when spending happens. Mr. Bevins owns Bulldog Metals. This suggestion would like saying he needs to review his entire budget at the end of every month, AND whenever a truck dumps scrap. Given the time needed for a full review every time that happens, I can’t say that his assertion that it could be done quickly is feasible, regardless if the CFO and City Manager are involved.

Do you believe that capital spending should be prioritized at annual or bi-annual times, or that it should be reprioritized if needed based on budget reviews?

Answer   I think any large capital project must be planned and budgeted well in advance and reviewed on an as needed basis depending on the fiscal  reality facing the city at the time  other smaller capital expenditures can be reviewed on an annual budget review keeping in mind we must meet the requirements of the cities needs today even if we must borrow for it

Large capital projects are planned and budgeted well in advance, evidenced in the Capital Budget Overview http://www.reddeer.ca/NR/rdonlyres/E5B51AA2-7689-4082-9F24-47A8A8D5D496/0/CityManagersPresentationCapitalBudgetOverview.pdf

Again, the question becomes, who or what determines an “as needed” basis for a review? If, as Mr. Bevins identified above, that an entire budget review would be done regularly and for spending, wouldn’t this negate the ‘as need’ basis if everything will be reviewed anyway? Or is the solution to completely separate capital spending from operating spending in the budget and review them as separate entities? The issue of borrowing to meet the needs of today is an interesting point in that one could counter with, “what if you need to borrow to ensure the needs of tomorrow are met?”

Safer Streets

Do you believe that crime prevention and policing are two aspects of the same body, or two separate entities? Could you please clarify why for whichever you believe is true?

Answer:   I think they go hand in hand police are also members in our community and they have a role to educate the public as well as practicing law enforcement police presence on the ground in the city strengthens the community and deters criminals

I’m glad to see that he feels they’re two aspects of the same body. I’m very glad to see he identifies police as community members who have a responsibility to educate instead of just being enforcers of the law. I think this humanizes both crime prevention and policing, and goes a long way to creating better relationships between citizens and police.

Do you feel that crime prevention should come primarily through increased enforcement, or should the city focus resources on addressing the root causes of some crime (ex: social aspects, drug use, poverty)?

Answer:   the cities role is to enforce the law through the RCMP and to help local agencies to deal with the social issues that lead to increased crime

I think he has this backwards; it’s not the city who enforces through the RCMP, the RCMP is hired by/stationed in the city to enforce municipal, provincial and federal laws. If it were the city’s role to enforce laws, it’d have it’s own local police force. I’m going to assume that the second part of the statement means he does agree that the city should use some resources on the social causes of crime alongside the policing aspect.

Transportation and Roads

Do you feel that all of the on-road bike lanes in Red Deer should be removed?

Answer:  No

Simple enough, though I’d be curious to know which lanes he’d leave down.

As Red Deer was nationally recognized for the bike lanes, would you support re-examining them in the future to determine if they could be improved upon, or would you support an expansion to the trail network instead?

Answer:   yes I would review the bike lane program and I would expand the trail network

Yes to both is a good indication that sustainable transport won’t be forgotten in the city.

For clarity, the Red Deer First platform states that any bike lane that takes away lanes of motor traffic will be removed. Does this include lanes dedicated for street parking?

Answer :   Some would be removed but not all that would be decided in the review

This didn’t really answer the question, through I’ll readily admit to this one being sort of tricky. When I took driver’s ed way back when, I was taught that street parking is still considered a lane for traffic. Whether or not that’s still the accepted view, I don’t know. I’m 50/50 on that. However, one could read his response as ‘some bike lanes that remove street parking will be taken out.’

Would you support contracting out services for pothole repair and prevention, or should this be the sole responsibility of the city?

Answer:   put it to tender 3 bids try it for a year and do the cost benefit analysis

It would be easier to do a CBA first based on data collected from other municipalities than to try it for a year and then conduct it. Tendering and running the program for a year before a CBA runs the risk of unanticipated cost overruns, delays in traffic, and people unhappy that money was spent before finding out the benefits for the amount used.

Snow removal in Red Deer is a key issue for many residents, yet financial restrictions play a large role in how much clearing can be planned and done. Would you support the contracting out of snow removal services, or should it remain the sole responsibility of the city with more finances and personnel dedicated to it?

Answer:    Try it for a year 3 bids we do not know what mother nature will bring but we can measure on an per hour as a basis for comparison

I’m not entirely sure what he means by ‘on a per hour as basis’. Is it referring to the amount of money per hour to run snow clearing, or is it the amount of snow per hour that falls that requires clearing? Either way, without a control, those measurements wouldn’t really amount to much. If there’s a light winter for three months and you tender bids based on that, you’d better hope the fourth month doesn’t see heavy snowfall for the majority of the month. Another approach would be to use historical snowfall records in the city to make an early estimate of what would need to be cleared. Another consideration here is: what do you do with the Public Works snow clearing equipment if you’ve contracted that job out? Do you lease it to the winner? Do you work alongside them? Do you let it sit for the year and then decide?

If the redesign of the Taylor Drive/Ross Street instersection is stopped, what solutions do you propose to allow traffic to more easily access the planned redevelopment of the railyards?

Answer:   A roundabout  with elevated walkways across Taylor and Ross cost a lot less achieves the same result  this would be where you ask for public input and  ideas

I like that he’s suggesting a roundabout. I think roundabouts are easier to deal with than lights. The big problem with roundabouts though is that most people have no clue how to drive in one. Another thing to consider is that this would have to be a two lane roundabout, but right now there are more than two lanes feeding into the intersection at certain points. There are four lanes approaching from the east, three from the west, three north and three south. A three or four lane roundabout would be a vehicular apocalypse, so you’d end up having to redo the entire area around the intersection anyway to turn it into two lanes all around. It’s also a fairly sized intersection, so elevated walks would be another large undertaking. The issue there is that there aren’t sidewalk access points at all corners of the intersection as it is, so do you only build them for what’s there now, or plan for all sides to connect? Don’t forget, this will serve as a critical traffic access point to a redeveloped areas of the city, so you’d have to account for more pedestrian traffic in the area. Now your costs include: building the roundabout, rerouting existing lanes to fit the roundabout path, and rerouting or building new pedestrian access points.

Do you believe more should be done to enhance the public transportation network in Red Deer? Could you provide examples of how you would promote the use of public transportation in the city?

Answer:   I would have a ride for free day or week once every quarter to get the public to try transit we need to promote it more vigorously I think as ridership increases the network will expand

I’d see a ride for free day being way more acceptable than an entire week. I’m sure Red Deer Transit would rather risk a day’s worth of fares than a week’s worth, even if it’s done quarterly. I’m also not sure how free ride days would promote increased transit use for the entire year. Would people take advantage of free rides when offered and go back to their own vehicles the rest of the time? I’d guess no. Your core ridership will always exist, it’s the two or three vehicle households that need convincing here. I also think cost is an issue, and I’m speaking more to month passes than regular fares. When I moved back out here, I took the bus to work for the majority of a year and a half before my after work activities necessitated faster transportation (and then moving to Sylvan). My first reaction to buying a monthly pass was that it was fairly expensive for the size of the system. True, monthly passes are more expensive in Edmonton and Calgary, but comparatively, you get way more bang for your buck per dollar spent on the pass than in Red Deer. Promotion of the system will only go so far, and promotion and convincing people it’s a relevant and useful option are very different animals.

Quality of Life

Would you promote non-toxic alternatives to chemical sprays for pest control, or should tried and true pest control methods be used to control them as quickly as possible?

Answer:  I would try non- toxic alternatives if they did not work go back to the previous method

I think most people would appreciate the desire to try non-toxic alternatives as they’d rather not have their kids or pets run around in Roundup or whatever they might use. However, if they don’t work you run the risk of having to buy the chemicals to use and then a potential backlash about health risks from them. This won’t ever shape up as a win-win scenario, but at least non-toxic options are on the table.

Transparency and Accountability

Why do you personally believe that a ward system would benefit Red Deer over the current at-large system?

Answer:   I believe it gives a councilor more accountability if you are accountable to a particular constituency you will work on their behalf.  The at large system means( everyone) but no one specifically is accountable also a better way for voters to measure effectiveness of a councilor

Much like their provincial and federal counterparts, a Ward councilor is responsible to a more focused group instead of everyone councilor at the same time. I’d say there are benefits to both approaches. A ward councilor is accountable to a smaller group of people and would be able to advocate for them better. An at-large system holds the entire decision making body accountable, but diffuses citizen advocacy to whichever will listen. I suppose another consideration proponents of a ward system think exists is that a ward system gives a councilor more power at the table. I’m not sure whether this is necessarily true. At the end of the day, there are still nine seats on council, and ward system or not, 5 of the 9 must agree before anything can happen.

Should town hall style meetings be held during regular city operating hours, or should they be scheduled for times when a greater numbers of citizens are able to attend (i.e. after work)?

Answer:   Saturdays or after work hours weekdays

This is kind of a catch-22; people complain that open council meetings are held during inconvenient hours and they should be held when more people can attend. Scheduling them on Saturdays or after work hours means more people can attend, but now they interfere with family time, sports time, whatever time you want. Will people want to forgo family dinner for a town hall meeting? I can see some people saying yes and some saying no. I don’t think it would be even enough to call it a wash though. I think if these meetings were regularly scheduled for one or two days a week after peak work hours, you’d generate a lot more interest and attendance since people know when they are, and have the rest of their after work or weekend time free.

What would the goals, or focus, of a youth and senior committee be?

Answers:   I think a mentoring program would be a great asset to the youth to gain some experience and knowledge from our wealth of resources in our senior population, and the youth could help some seniors with odd jobs and help them with some daily tasks.  This is a win win to help the youth and the seniors of our city and maybe they could understand each other better

Maybe I worded this question wrong, but the RDF platform identifies separate youth and senior committees. Mr. Bevin’s response seems like it’s a ‘youth and senior’ committee, singular. I certainly won’t fault this idea, since this type of idea does benefit all involved. And really, who wouldn’t want to see youth and seniors understand each other better if the end result is a mixed youth/senior dance troupe pulling off Gagnam Style? Come on, you thought about it for a second there. Anyway, we’re still kind of up in the air as to what the separate youth and senior committee would do.

The city currently uses it’s website to host online surveys from citizens. Would better use technology be used in much the same vein (to host/conduct information gathering activities), or would it involve an overall adoption of technology to improve communication in general (ex: a clear and active social media voice)?

Answer:   I believe any form of input is a good thing we can learn a lot from social media and ways to increase communication through technology  like podcasts of community forums

I think community forum podcasts would be good for audio records of meetings, but how many people would honestly listen to those on a regular basis? Certainly, they’d be there for anyone to listen to on demand, but that’s not really much of an improvement on communication. While the City does make use of Facebook and Twitter, I think there’s a lot of rightful criticism that it’s not using social media to its full potential or in the best way. At the same time, I know how hard they have it, since a bunch of us took the city to task on Twitter over the initial notices for the bike lanes.

I’m curious as to how well versed RDF candidates actually are in social media, or at using electronic communication in general. I received an answer from RDF candidate David Helm that I’ll go into more depth about that on. Facebook is used by some RDF candidates, as is Twitter. I haven’t seen any Google+ or instagram accounts, though I’ll admit I haven’t gone out of my way to look for those. This comes into play when you have a candidate say that technology is a good way to increase communication, but then doesn’t use what’s at their disposal to do just that. One also needs to consider this when a candidate supports a platform that advocates for better and expanded technology use to communicate with citizens, but then limits people to contacting them through only one. Looking Mr. Helm’s way…

Economic Development

What are some examples of red tape that interfere with planning, licensing and permitting that you feel should be removed or streamlined?

Answer:   We could have more people in the planning Department  so it does not take 6-8 weeks to get approval to build a building in this city  or streamline inspections and permits, contract out the service some cities already do this with great success

Here’s a question I think a lot of people might ask; do you want to fast track approval for an entire building? I’d want to be sure the specs are sound, what’s going to be built, how it’ll be built, etc. Likewise for inspections. If you contract these out, how do you make sure the contractors are approving what they should, and remain impartial to the proposal? If you have an inspector whose family owns a development firm, would you still consider hiring them if that’s the company wanting to build? The desire to hire more people in the planning department is valid, especially considering this is the list of things they’re responsible for per the city website:

*                Undertakes municipal land use planning strategies.

·               Maintains, processes and updates statutory land use plans and policies.

·               Manages issues associated with community growth.

·               Administers the Neighbourhood Planning and Design Guidelines & Standards.

·               Is responsible for the Land Use Bylaw.

·               Provides public participation processes related to planning, development and subdivision.

·               Processes subdivision applications.

 

Now the question becomes; do you hire more planning department staff to deal with ALL of these responsibilities, or just to rubber stamp applications faster? One of these options doesn’t really serve to benefit the situation.

With the exception or those businesses in the downtown Business Revitalization Zone, there is no business tax in the city. Is the review of tax rates paid by businesses focused on the ones in the Business Revitalization Zone, or is the review focused on whether those excluded from the BRZ should be paying

Answer:    My goal would be to increase the tax base not increase tax rate I think we should look at ways we can draw businesses to the downtown I think higher taxes is not a way to do it,  again we can grow the city economy not through tax increases but through increased business development  in the private sector by inviting in new business

The answer doesn’t really address the question, nor does it address what’s stated in the RDF platform when is says “Review the tax rates businesses pay to ensure Red Deer is competitive within the province.” Increasing the tax base is good, but how do you do that if you’re attracting something that won’t pay a type of tax in the first place? One also needs to remember that there is a finite amount of space in the downtown area covered by the BRZ. Cramming more businesses in there isn’t really ideal, nor, as Mr. Bevins points out, is increasing their tax rate. New business in Red Deer is good; it will contribute to the economy, and serve the population. But again, the issue at hand is the (non-existent) tax rate paid by businesses outside of downtown and how they’ll contribute to the tax base of the city.