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Tim Cartmell
infrastructure investment. We've brought a
number of investments that I'm quite proud
of: Terwillegar Drive and at least 20 other
roadway projects; getting the Ambleside
maintenance site under way that allows for
southwest road clearing and landscaping
crews to be more efficient; getting the
province to widen the Anthony Henday.
I've also been on the losing side of a
number of votes around more efficient use of
tax dollars, setting a standard for behaviour
in public spaces. I've tried to maintain
open dialogue and communication with our
colleagues at the province and the police
through face-to-face meetings. And so I'm
proud of the way that I've carried myself with
these, even if I've been in the minority.
OM: Is there anything else from your last two
terms that you’d want to carry forward
as mayor?
TC: I don't think this council has accomp-
lished much in the last few years. We've
been spread way too thin and trying to
please too many people.
OM: Isn’t that the job though? To appeal to
as many constituents as possible?
TC: If everything is a priority, nothing is a
priority. This is one reason why we’ve seen
significant year-over-year property tax
increases. We're trying to do so many things
for so many people, as opposed to focusing
on things that are going to help the most
people in the moment.
OM: When you speak to Edmontonians,
what do they say are their biggest priorities
and concerns?
TC: Taxes — it's getting unaffordable to
live here. Safety. There seems to be no
coordination on city work, and the condition
of our city isn't being maintained. People
are saying, “I'm paying a lot of money and I
don't see my money at work. I don't feel safe.
Where is everybody?”
OM: The solutions to these problems all
come at a cost. How can we afford them?
TC: By combing through our budget and
eliminating a lot of busy work. If we had a few
less middle managers and a few more people
on lawn mowers, then our boulevards would
look better. So it's a reallocation of our existing
budgets to the services we need most.
OM: And how many middle-manager
positions can you reasonably lose in order to
rebuild one road?
TC: Let me rephrase: how many new
things can we afford to build on taxpayer
dollars right now? How many more arenas
and swimming pools and fitness centres?
Practically none.
OM: These amenities are usually for new
neighbourhoods to service a growing
population.
TC: We want to see complete communities
as they develop and evolve. But what is the
size and scale of those amenities? Maybe
they're $80 million rec centres, not $350
million. There are also opportunities to
repeat construction. Design one efficient
building and build it three or four times
and do that in partnership with the private
sector and other levels of government. So,
it's not that we can't have these things;
it’s whether we can deliver them without
increasing taxes by 10 per cent.
OM: Would you try to reduce property taxes?
TC: A reduction in taxes is virtually
impossible. What we want is for taxes
to level off for a number of years, so that
they become a smaller proportion of the
overall cost of living. It will take time to
implement the changes we're talking
about. ■
28 EDify. OCTOBER.25