Mayor Karen Farbridge presents 2008 State of the City

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On the second anniversary of the municipal election, Mayor Karen Farbridge delivered a State of the City presentation today that highlighted the City’s progress so far, as well as the priorities and plans for the next two years. She gave her remarks at an annual breakfast meeting hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.

Her wide-ranging presentation addressed three main topics: municipal governance, including a principle-based governance framework that serves as a yardstick for the City’s progress; economic and financial performance indicators, which show how the City stacks up to other communities in areas such as taxation and jobs; and a new economic development strategy to respond to current economic challenges.
In her discussion of municipal governance, Mayor Farbridge pointed out that 80 to 90 per cent of the City’s resources are dedicated to day-to-day operations, such as the maintenance of 1,350 acres of parkland, and the response to more than 4,000 calls for by-law enforcement in 2007.

With only 10 to 20 per cent of City resources available for strategic projects such as the Baker Street redevelopment and the Guelph Innovation District, the Mayor emphasized the importance of Council’s rigorous priority-setting process. "Our principles inform our priorities," she said, "And our priorities drive our progress."

Two examples illustrated the tangible benefits of pursuing a principle-based approach to governance.

One involved an operational review of by-law enforcement in 2007, which resulted in the consolidation of enforcement activities under a central enforcement agency and the cross-training of officers. "By better utilizing the talents of our existing staff, we have been able to move to 24/7 service while simultaneously removing the need for an additional officer in 2008," Mayor Farbridge explained.

The second example was a new people-driven optimization program at Guelph’s Waste Water Treatment Plant. The program has achieved astounding results, including a dramatic improvement in performance, the elimination of the need for an $8 million UV system, and the deferral of a $5 million anaerobic digester and a $20 million expansion.

Turning to economic and financial performance indicators, the Mayor said that Guelph is well-positioned, with a high job rate of nearly 59 jobs for every 100 people.

Over the past year, the City has stabilized its debt and increased its reserves. The local tax burden for a residential bungalow is the lowest among a group of 10 comparable communities, while the tax burdens for the neighbourhood shopping, office, and industrial categories are all in the middle of the pack in the group.

Though Guelph is well-positioned, it is vital to strengthen the resiliency of our local economy in order to leverage our considerable strengths and continue to prosper through the current global economic challenges. In her discussion of the local economy, Mayor Farbridge announced that the Economic Development division will immediately begin developing a new economic strategy called "Prosperity Guelph 2020."

She elaborated, "To assist in this initiative, I will be assembling a Mayor’s Task Force on the Economy. I will be asking a few key business and community leaders to provide up-front advice to focus the development of the strategy, and to review the draft strategy to ensure we have hit the mark."

The strategy will be community-based, as it must be more than a City Hall project, the Mayor said.
The Mayor concluded by thanking Council, staff, citizens and businesses for their engagement in City priorities throughout the year. "I have been humbled over the past two years by the willingness of this community to work together, and the confidence in this community that when we work together, we can make a difference."

To view the Mayor’s full speech and presentation, click here.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kate Sullivan
Communications Assistant
Office of the Mayor
T 519-822-1260 x 2558
E kate.sullivan@guelph.ca