Malmo Community League
 
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About us

  • community volunteers
  • non-profit society
  • socials
  • recreational programs
  • facilities
  • advocacy
in Malmo Plains
Edmonton
Alberta
Canada.

Recent site activity

Our City Councillors (Ward 5)

The official City of Edmonton website is www.edmonton.ca

Bryan Anderson
Phone: (780) 496-8130

Bryan Anderson has been very supportive of our community on LRT & other issues.

New Joint-Use Agreement on School Facilities

Citizens are frustrated with the lack of use of school gyms. The new JUA addresses this availability issue by:
  • ensuring normal use hours are provided and
  • additional use hours can be bought by the City, which should increase the number of user groups that can be accommodated
This increased operational expense to the schools (Edmonton Public Schools/Edmonton Catholic Schools) will be covered by a general increase in rental fees for the public's use of school spaces. The new fee schedule was negotiated by a series of general meetings with user groups.

The City will do all bookings for the school boards. .... more

Waste Management Utility in the News

by Bryan Anderson, April 14 '08

On March 25, Council approved an Administrative recommendation to form a Waste Management Utility, effective January 1, 2009. Council directed the Administration to develop a bylaw that will establish a waste management utility. The bylaw will come back to committee at mid-year where citizens can speak to the issue, following which Council will debate and vote on the bylaw.

In 2009, using the current financing system of user fees and taxes, each house will pay approximately $18.66 per month in user fees ($224/yr) for processing of solid waste and recyclables and approximately $73.00 per year in taxes (for the average house) for collection of solid waste and recyclables.

Also, under the current system, non-residential taxpayers will contribute 40% (estimated at $13.2M in 2009) of the tax levy draw for waste management services but do not receive collection services from the City for this contribution.

The following comments are provided as justification for a waste utility:

  • Five regional jurisdictions have waste utilities with costs recovered through fees paid. Edmonton is a partial utility (currently paying fees for recycling and composting facilities and landfill disposal). With the potential for waste management to be regional, it is best to compare apples to apples.
  • The annual budget process can fund requests for capital costs such as collection trucks (or not) depending on other competing tax supported needs. A utility can borrow for timely purchases and repay loans with fee revenue.
  • The non-residential sector would not pay for collection services they don’t get.
  • Revenue opportunities will be created by providing services to business such as the collection of recyclables, electronic and other waste materials; marketing expertise to international jurisdictions; and acting on opportunities for waste processing with the private sector.
  • User fees will be applied to the actual services for which they are collected, a legal requirement.
In 2009, under the current system the average single family residence will pay approximately $224/yr in user fees and $72/yr. in taxes (a total of $297/yr) for waste management services. Under a utility model, that residence would pay a user fee of $29.15/mo or $350/yr.

Tag-a-bag or volume sensitive fees are terms used to describe a financing strategy based on the volume of material set out for collection. Under these programs, each residence pays a different fee based on the amount of wastes (garbage and/or recyclables) they produce. The overall costs of such systems are higher and City Council did not direct the Administration to develop and deliver a tag-a-bag program.

If a utility model is approved, the Administration recommends using all taxes no longer needed to fund waste management services to reduce the overall 2009 tax levy base for the residential sector. This will ensure that the out-of-pocket expenses for all households will not exceed what it would have been under the current system. If you would like to express your thoughts concerning this proposal you can contact me at 496-8130, or by e-mail at bryan.anderson@edmonton.ca.


Don Iveson
Phone:(780) 496-8132

Don, a resident of Malmo, is serving his first term on Council. He is a former VP of the Community League Board.