Sarah Hamilton - Councillor Sarah Hamilton, Ward 5
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Sarah
Hamilton
CITY COUNCILLOR, WARD 5
COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2021
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR CITY COUNCILLOR
Hello Ward 5 residents! about grass cutting, youth sports, and
recreation centres. More than ever, you have
It almost goes without saying that it’s been a highlighted for me the need for strong and
challenging year for every single person, no responsive municipal government.
matter their life circumstances — whether eco-
nomically, educationally or with health, each of Like many of you, I’m glad to see 2020 come
us has been confronted by how quickly the world to a close, but the small pleasures, the things
is changing and has forced us to adapt in our we’ve learned and the growth we’ve shared,
own lives. We wanted to send out a newsletter at individually and as a community, should not get
the beginning of the year to update you on some left behind. The value our libraries provide, even
significant things going on in the city — Included when they are closed, for instance, or the beauty
in this newsletter is an update on traffic safety, of our river valley and its many trails are just a
and the 2021 budget. We’ve also included some few examples of how this year has brought us joy.
helpful information on how to use 311 and the
snow removal policies of the city, as those are Last, I want you, the residents of Ward 5 to be
the things we hear about most. among the first to know that it is my intention
to seek re-election in 2021. This message isn’t
I want to thank everyone for continuing to about campaigning, but so you know I am com-
watch out for friends, family and neighbours. mitted to creating a safer and more vibrant city,
From the onset of the pandemic, I was moved by and it all starts here. Come next election, the
stories of people reaching out to one another — majority of the area currently called Ward 5 will
ensuring that isolating family members had become Ward 7 and will be referred to commonly
groceries after returning from international trips, as “sipiwiniywak” (see-pee-win-ee-wok), which
arranging Zoom meetings with friends so they is a Cree word meaning “River Cree”. It is a fitting
could play games and catch up, and sending term for the geography of the area, and a
cards to neighbours to let them know that they reminder of the history of the land we all live on.
were around should they need anything. I hope to have your support again in October.
As the spring and summer progressed, communi- May 2021 bring us new joys!
ties found ways to connect, whether over shared
streets, socially distanced community league
AGMs or pop up parades. And when we started
talking about the things we valued, you spoke up
Traffic Safety Improvements
for Our Communities
Through my first three years as your City
Councillor, I have heard from hundreds of you
regarding traffic safety issues in our neighbour-
hoods. Whether it be the need for crosswalks and
traffic control upgrades, issues with poor sight
lines, speeding or shortcutting, residents have
been diligent in communicating their concerns to
my office and to the Office of Traffic Safety. I want
to thank those of you who reached out for being
my eyes and ears in the community every day.
I want to let you know that we have had some
substantial wins: since 2018 we have advanced As you can see, Edmonton City Council meetings
15 crosswalk upgrades in Ward 5, along with nine have looked a little different this year...
traffic control changes and six school safety
improvements, with many more slated for 2021.
We have also made some progress on several of The Safe Mobility Strategy will use a combina-
the more chronic traffic issues that have been tion of location-based and system-wide actions
raised with my office. to support safe and livable streets, no matter
how people get around. It is designed to be flexi-
Though these improvements are important, ble and evolving, and will be adjusted over time by
I know that many of you are still waiting for its outcomes. This will help the City tackle wide-
attention to your traffic issues from the City. spread issues that contribute to crashes, such as
In 2015 Edmonton became the first city in Canada street design and deep-rooted cultural norms
to adopt Vision Zero, and since then there has around traffic and mobility. And like the previous
been a renewed focus at the City to introduce new City of Edmonton traffic safety strategy, the Safe
programs that will make our streets safer. Limited Mobility Strategy will be funded by the Traffic
resources and cumbersome processes have made Safety Automated Enforcement Reserve.
for a slower rate of change than I know many of
you want as we shift towards building a safer city, One of the most exciting elements of this
but one thing is clear: residents want to have more strategy is the work around Traffic Safety
control over traffic safety measures in their Community Activation. This will enable the City
neighbourhoods. “to collaboratively identify and implement custom-
ized, creative and flexible solutions that address
In the spirit of collaboration and responsiveness traffic safety concerns outside of Neighbourhood
the City has recently introduced the Safe Mobility Renewal.” There’s plenty more to learn about, and
Strategy. This is Edmonton’s newest approach if you’re interested I would encourage you to visit
to achieving Vision Zero through safe and edmonton.ca/safestreets.
livable streets.
Update on City of Edmonton Budget 2021
On December 11, 2020, City Council wrapped frontline supervisors. To share the burden of these
our fall supplemental budget adjustment cuts, we also voted to reduce Councillors’ and the
deliberations, and I’m pleased to say we were Mayor’s office budgets.
able to achieve a 0% tax increase for 2021,
down from what was projected to be a 3.2% I heard from many of you in the weeks leading
increase. This represents the lowest property tax up to budget deliberations, and the good news is
increase since 1997 and, after accounting for that Council managed to save many of the pro-
inflation and population growth, accounts for a grams and services that had residents concerned.
significant reduction in the City budget. On the operating side, we saved Oliver, Scona and
Eastglen pools, Oliver and Tipton arenas, the City’s
Every year, during budget deliberations, my spay & neuter program and the Community
Council colleagues and I seek to find efficiencies Investment Operating Grant. We also preserved
and reduce costs wherever possible. Between transit service hours and modified the turf mainte-
2014 and 2018, Council directed Administration nance schedule to retain ongoing April–September
to find annual savings equivalent to 2% of service. As for the Capital Budget, Council protected
the annual tax levy through innovation and key projects like Valley Line West LRT and ongoing
continuous improvement, which has led to neighbourhood renewal, so that we can continue to
more than $127 million in efficiencies. This year, invest in critical infrastructure and support our
however, in order to reduce the tax burden on economic recovery.
families and businesses in our city, we have had
to go much further and make some hard choices.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant
impact on the lives of Edmontonians, and has
led to increased cost pressures and reduced
revenues for the City’s budget.
My goal with this year’s budget was to keep
costs to taxpayers as low as possible, but not at
the expense of the services and supports that
residents need right now. I’m proud that we held
the line at 0% this year, but this will not come with-
out challenges. Edmontonians are resilient, and
Our City Manager and his team deserve a lot of this is a time when we need to find ways to innovate
credit for making some very difficult decisions, and collaborate with the people who are invested in
presenting a budget proposal to Council that our city, from community leagues to private busi-
included hundreds of permanent layoffs. We will nesses. I am confident that this budget strikes the
see reductions of 8.7 % to senior management, right balance for 2021 and sets up opportunities to
5 .1% to middle management, and 6.8% to reimagine our city in the decade ahead.
Importance of
Using 311 App
The City of Edmonton has a 311 smartphone
app where you can report things like winter
road and sidewalk maintenance, litter and
graffiti complaints, parking complaints, and
many other things. In the app, you also have the
option to attach a photo and use your smart-
phone’s GPS function to allow the app to detect
your location. This is a great tool, especially if
you are just wanting to make a report. It saves
you from having to be on hold on the phone and
is quick, easy and secure.
As we make our way through these winter
months, I want to encourage you to pull up the
311 app and let your City know if you notice
any spots along your neighbourhood roadways
that need attention. Our snow & ice team relies
on 311 data every day to sort out where they need
to send their equipment to keep our roads safe,
as does our Office of Traffic Safety. And if smart-
phones aren’t your thing, rest assured that you
can still call our 311 operation centres from 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Keep in touch!
SarahHamiltonYEG
SJLHamilton
Sarah_Hamilton_Yeg
(780) 496-8120
Sarah.Hamilton@Edmonton.ca
SarahHamilton.ca
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