Lethbridge Minute: Term Limits, Candidate Requirements, and Fine Increases Stopped

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

This Week In Lethbridge:

• There will be a meeting of City Council on Tuesday, beginning with a closed session at 12:30 pm. The meeting will open up to the public at 1:30 pm. Council will consider term limits for Council Membership on Boards, Commissions or Committees. Also up for discussion is asking the Provincial and Federal Governments for funding for the Functional Planning Study and Preliminary Design for the proposed third river crossing.
  
  
• The Governance Standing Policy Committee will meet on Thursday at 1:30 pm. During this meeting, Council will discuss the need to consolidate the Fee Assistance Program, which supports low-income residents to participate in Recreation and Culture programs, and the Refugee Bus Pass program. The Committee will also discuss increases to the deposit and signature requirements for municipal election candidates. According to the City, “a large number of candidates is overwhelming to the Electors, resulting in considerable time to review all the candidates’ information as well as a significant number of campaign signs in the community.” The Committee will recommend an increase in signatures and deposit funds needed to run for election - from 5 to 25 signatures and $0 to $100 for Councillor candidates and from 5 to 50 signatures and $0 to $250 for Mayoral candidates.
  
  
• On Friday, at 9:00 am, there will be a meeting of the Advocacy Advisory Committee. No agenda is available yet.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• Last week's meeting of the Economic Standing Policy Committee saw the Committee vote unanimously against the proposed parking fine increase that would have seen fines go from $25 to $50 in the City’s downtown. The move came after members of the business community showed up in force to express their concerns over the proposed changes which they say would have dramatically impacted shopping habits in downtown Lethbridge. Moving forward, the Committee suggested that Administration work with downtown stakeholders to develop a cohesive parking strategy and report back by the end of the quarter.
  
  
• The City will add two new ambulances to its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system, increasing the total number available in its ambulance fleet to 14. The new ambulances are expected to reduce response times and improve emergency medical services to the community. The City has also hired six new paramedics and will be adding a seventh in the coming months to support the expanded EMS system. This expansion of services comes as the city continues to grow and the demand for emergency medical services increases. The EMS system in Lethbridge responded to more than 10,000 calls in 2021, with an average response time of approximately nine minutes.
  
  
• Last Wednesday, the Royal Canadian General Stewart Branch organized an event at Lethbridge City Hall to commemorate National Flag Day. The occasion marked the first raising of the flag of Canada at Parliament Hill in 1965. The ceremony brought together participants to honour the flag's significance as a symbol of the country's history, values, and people.

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