-Nasty Politics Impacting Grand [sic] Prairie
-Nasty Politics Impacting Grand [sic] Prairie

Politics can be nasty. It gets all of us angry at times.

The thing that gets me the most angry: when mis-truths or outright lies are told, especially when they impact our most vulnerable residents. I’m sad to see an attack ad going around that does just that to the people of our community.

Due to this ad, I’ve had people contact me in fear of services they rely on being cut. The problem? There are services this ad says will receive “big cuts,” but which will have their budget preserved (and sometimes increased) going into 2020. Vulnerable Grande Prairie residents are being scared by mis-truths. That isn’t acceptable….

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Dylan BresseyComment
Pickleball
Pickleball

I've seen some conversation about pickleball. The complaint of some: "why would you invest in that when the budget is tight?"

In response, I'd say: "if we want both long term fiscal health AND a great City to live in, this is exactly the type of project we should be investing in…."

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Dylan BresseyComment
Budget 2020: 5 Things to Know
Budget 2020: 5 Things to Know

Council just approved the budget for 2020. I’m very happy with the work that went into it….

Here are five key things to know about Budget 2020:

  • It has big investments in roads and safety

  • ~$4.5 million will be lost to senior levels of government

  • Downtown Rehabilitation will continue in 2021

  • Big savings were found throughout the City

  • Taxes are down this Council term

Following is more information…

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Dylan BresseybudgetComment
Budget 2020: Where We've Come and My Priorities
Budget 2020: Where We've Come and My Priorities

Tomorrow, Council heads into deliberations concerning Budget 2020. This is the third budget our current City Council will be setting. And it will be a very difficult one….

As with any large organisation, there is still room for efficiency in the City. We’ll continue figuring out how to use City resources better. But, we don’t have anywhere near the same potential savings as was possible last year. As always, inflation adds annual costs to the City. And in 2020, provincial and federal changes are creating holes worth millions of dollars in the City budget.

I do not see how Council could set a 2020 tax decrease, or even hold taxes where they are, without reducing some services delivered by the City. At the same time, controlling the tax burden is a big concern. Through budget deliberations, the predominant conversation will be, “in light of significant increased costs to the City, how can we balance maintaining quality services with charging reasonable taxes?”…

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Dylan BresseybudgetComment