Lethbridge Minute: Committee Recruitment, Election Signs, and Deregulating Taxi Fares

Lethbridge Minute: Committee Recruitment, Election Signs, and Deregulating Taxi Fares

 

Lethbridge Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Lethbridge politics

 

This Week In Lethbridge:

  • A Special Meeting of City Council is scheduled for Tuesday at 12:30 pm. The lone agenda item - a mid-term Council orientation - will be discussed in a closed session.

  • The Community Wellbeing and Safety Strategy Advisory Committee is looking to recruit Lethbridgians. Members are responsible for making recommendations regarding funding allocation for social services. Applicants should possess leadership experience, strategic planning skills, and relevant expertise in specific sectors, including faith, youth, housing, and criminal justice. Applications are open until Wednesday, March 29th at 4:30 pm.

  • The annual Red Tie Gala, hosted by United Way Lethbridge & South Western Alberta, will take place on April 1st. This highly anticipated event celebrates the invaluable contributions of individuals and organizations to the United Way through workplace campaigns, leadership giving, community events, in-kind donations, and volunteer-led philanthropy. Tickets and tables of eight are available online.

 

Last Week In Lethbridge:

  • City Council voted 7-1 to have Administration prepare an amending bylaw that would deregulate taxi fares. This is great news - we've been saying for ages that politicians should not be setting the prices of products, especially taxis. The amendments will remove the minimum and maximum prices of taxi fares, as well as the requirement to use a meter or have a top light. Administration will prepare a new bylaw that captures all of the changes before it comes back before Council for a final vote.

  • Council discussed banning election signage on public right-of-ways, but ultimately voted 5-4 to refer the issue to the April 27th meeting of the Governance Standing Policy Committee. Visual clutter, unsafe distractions, and the staffing costs of removing and disposing of illegally placed signage were all cited as reasons for a ban. The ban would have applied to municipal, provincial, and federal elections, and some Councillors were worried that candidates in the upcoming provincial elections may have already purchased their signs. 

  • The Lethbridge YWCA announced that they will not be renewing the contract for their Permanent Supportive Housing Women's Residence Program, which expires on March 31st. According to the CEO of the YWCA, the program has become too taxing for the non-profit to manage owing to the necessity of 24/7 care. The YWCA is collaborating with community partners to find alternative accommodation for the supportive housing participants before the month's end.

 

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