Three things that will lead to a better Calgary

Friday, 24 June 2011 10:05

Written by Adam Legge, President + CEO, Calgary Chamber of Commerce

As published in the Calgary Herald on June 24, 2011

In life, there is always more to do than can ever be achieved, and for a city, that is no different. Every new city council takes time to set its priorities for the next three years. Our current city council is in the process of formulating its priorities for 2012-14.

We Calgarians are among the most fortunate people in the world. We live in a safe city with clean air, have an active economy and we have the benefit of leading business people and their ideas. But still there are things to do. We have a number of people doing great things in our city -still, we can always be better.

So, as city council completes its priorities for 2012-14, there are three key areas that the Calgary Chamber of Commerce believes are the most important for the long-term health, vitality and well-being of this city, its economy and its citizens:

A leading model of municipal governance

A greater Calgary would see improvements and efficiencies to our municipal governance. One of the greatest challenges for municipal governments, not only in Calgary but across the world, is providing a meaningful forum for citizen engagement while staying focused on the strategic direction for the city.

What Calgarians truly seek from municipal leaders is a focus on the implementation of a vision and policy environment that will make Calgary an even greater place to live, work and play, without compromising citizens' ability to engage council on key issues of interest.

One suggestion is to restructure the role of city council to focus more on vision and strategic direction for the city.

This approach would enable the standing policy committees to develop plans and budgets for specific areas of city function that align with a councildeveloped strategic plan.

Another notion is moving into a broader-based engagement approach and using new technologies. Why can't people video conference or Skype call in for a council meeting? Why can't time be dedicated for engagement and input instead of sitting in council or committee all day for your five minutes? Why can't other digital technologies be implemented? They all can, but it will just take some re-engineering.

The best place to do business

The 2008 global recession has challenged Calgary businesses to revisit the fundamentals and improve their competitiveness. Council's 2012-14 priority setting process is an opportune time for the city to do the same.

One idea is to simplify the municipal tax system for business. Calgary is one of the few North American jurisdictions that levies both a business tax and a non-residential property tax, with most cities moving toward a single tax, eliminating duplication and unnecessary administrative costs and process. Let's consolidate the business and non-residential property taxes in an effort to reduce duplication and improve Calgary's competitive position internationally.

Another priority should be about making it easier to do business with the City of Calgary -cutting red tape. Unnecessary regulation has the potential to stifle entrepreneurship, hinder productivity growth and reduce the profitability of existing business, leaving less money for business to invest and create new jobs, or worse, driving business and investment out of the city.

The chamber of commerce supports city council in its efforts to eliminate red tape through the cut-redtape initiative and the newly created innovation fund, and encourages council to continue the prioritization of red tape reductions as part of its 2012-14 priorities.

Municipal fiscal leadership

Calgary is a great city. We offer a world-class quality of life with fantastic public spaces and high-quality infrastructure. While the chamber supports the need for the city to offer an attractive and compelling package of services to make Calgary a truly desirable place to live, work and do business, we also recognize that this service package must be fiscally sustainable.

One priority area should be in strengthening the connection between taxes and services. This would include measures such as setting franchise fees based on the total delivery cost of the service, and exclude the value of the commodity from the calculation; incorporating life cycle infrastructure costs into growth management/community development decisions; and working with the province to provide the City of Calgary with greater revenue-generating capacity, provided the overall tax burden does not increase.

Another priority in fiscal leadership is achieving the fullest value for every dollar. The chamber strongly supports the city's efforts on this front, including the increasing service efficiency and effectiveness initiative and the zero-based service reviews. These activities provide a unique opportunity to analyze services offered and identify innovations, efficiencies and improvements -including the potential roles of the private sector and community groups in service delivery. Those cities that offer the greatest quality of life at the highest value per tax dollar will be the most successful in emerging from the economic downturn.

The chamber also feels strongly about investing in a richly cultural and supportive city that is dynamic, affordable, active and has choice for all in terms of housing, mobility, leisure and service (www. GreatCalgary.ca). However, if we don't get the underlying fundamentals right, we won't have the flexibility, resources or capacity to deliver on that full package that would make a great Calgary even greater.

View the Chamber's letter to City Council