In her annual State of the City presentation this morning, Mayor Karen Farbridge highlighted the value citizens receive from City services and explained that the 2010 Budget process will signal a new way of doing business at the City.
“The State of the City address is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the progress we’ve made throughout the year, and look ahead to the year to come. It’s particularly timely to reflect on this now, as we head into one of the most challenging Budget years in recent memory,” said Mayor Farbridge.
She began her presentation by exploring a typical day in the life of a city resident, where more than a dozen municipal services are used. These range from flushing the toilet, which produces some of the 20 million litres of wastewater the City treats each year, to taking your children to swimming lessons, which are provided to more than 10,000 children annually. Such day-to-day services consume about 80 to 90 per cent of City resources. The Mayor noted, “Everyday services might not always make headlines, but for most of us, they’re what quality of life in this community is all about. They represent the bulk of the value citizens receive for their tax dollars.”
The Mayor used a performance measurement tool called a “balanced scorecard” to demonstrate how the City is providing its services in an effective and efficient way. A balanced scorecard determines whether the organization’s operations are in line with its overall vision – in the City’s case, the Strategic Plan that Council approved in 2007. The Mayor highlighted progress in each area of the scorecard – customer service, learning and growth, business processes and efficiencies, and the financial perspective.
In considering the financial area of the scorecard, Mayor Farbridge noted that the economic downturn has affected the municipality’s financial picture, with a projected $8 million decline in revenues for 2010. “Even in good economic times, it would be unacceptable to pass on an impact of this magnitude to City taxpayers. It would be unthinkable in the difficult economic times families are experiencing right now,” she said.
Through the 2010 Budget process, the Mayor said, Council is prepared to make the tough decisions necessary to protect taxpayers, maintain the City’s excellent AA credit rating, and keep the City’s finances sustainable over the long term. Measures include new policies that set limits on debt, establish minimum reserve levels, and cap the use of property taxes for capital projects, as well as a new priority ranking tool that brings new discipline to capital planning.
Attendees at the breakfast meeting, hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, received a place mat that outlines the progress and plans for each year of this term of Council.
Mayor Farbridge concluded by thanking Council, staff, citizens and businesses for their engagement in City priorities throughout the year. “When we talk about what makes Guelph special, we often mention physical assets like our rivers or our university,” she said. “We usually miss what I think is one of our greatest assets – the ability to work together for the benefit of our community.”