Curtain comes down on city council
Posted Jul 27, 2010 7:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The final meeting of city council before the fall municipal election includes one more controversial decision.
By a 13-2 vote, the mayor and aldermen approved the relocation of the John Howard Society’s Bedford House from Victoria Park to the Manchester industrial area.
The decision was not what dozens of residents of nearby communities wanted to hear about the halfway house.
Many Calgarians are happy that there will be a number of new faces at City Hall after ballots are counted on October 18th.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier is not seeking re-election, Ward 9 Alderman Joe Ceci won’t be back either.
Three other council members are vying for the mayor’s chair.
There was no shortage of controversial decisions made by council over the past three years.
Topping the list was the spending of $25-million to hire a celebrity architect to build a foot bridge over the Bow River. Work on that project is underway.
A taxpayers revolt during the height of the recession, forced council to roll back proposed tax hikes.
The auditor raised questions about the tendering and awarding of city contracts before a review of Tracy McTaggart’s office led to her dismissal.
Scott Hennig with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation tells 660News that he hopes accountability will be a big issue during the campaign leading up to the civic vote.
On a positive note, a citywide curbside recycling program was brought in.
Even though council chambers will be dark this summer, construction crews will use the break to carry out $1.7-million in renovations to improve accessibility.
