The City of Edmonton is beginning the first stage of its so-called Reimagine plan in an attempt to recover from the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan was first revealed in July and was designed to look at ways to continue building a healthy, prosperous city, while working to balance the budget.
The plan features five main areas of work: reimagining city building, reimagining services, modernizing the workforce, focusing on being a more relationship-based city and increasing financial viability.
On Monday, the city announced the five major areas of work that will be part of the Reimagine Services plan and the 16 shortlist opportunities that warrant the development of a business case.
The five main areas of work are: park and open space access, recreational sport facility access/recreation and cultural programming, facility management and maintenance, fleet management and maintenance and fire rescue.
“The reviews aim to examine our services from the perspective of relevance, efficiency and effectiveness,” city manager Andre Corbould said.
“We have a responsibility to Edmontonians to continually examine the way we deliver programs and services to ensure tax dollar value to Edmontonians.”
Some of the shortlisted projects include parking fees, golf course operations and fire rescues approach to pre-hospital care.
The full list of the 16 shortlisted projects can be found on the city’s website.
According to the city, the reviews will prioritize value for money and concrete cost-saving recommendations, while also identifying tradeoffs or impacts.
Colin Johnson, the deputy executive director of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, said he has concerns when it comes to the idea of potentially charging a parking fee at parks in the city.
“We really feel that access to green space in the city is a fundamental right that every Edmontonian should have,” he said. “When something comes forward like this, our primary concern is around equity of access.
“While we don’t love the idea of a parking fee at parks, we understand the economic realities that are out there.”
Johnson said if such a fee was brought in, perhaps the city could make parking free for at least a certain length of time.
A member of a local not-for-profit that advocates for infrastructure for people on bikes and on foot said he would like to see the city take certain additional steps if it tries to bring in a plan to introduce parking fees at certain locations.
“We’re open to ideas of imposing parking fees where there’s a cost associated with holding that parking space and maintaining it, but we’d want to see the city provide folks with options to get to those places,” said Stephen Raitz, the chair of Paths for People.
Greg Rehman, the president Edmonton Fire Fighters’ Union, said he has questions if the city considers changes to emergency response.
“Our concern would be if there were any service reductions or staffing reductions in fire, that the safety of the public and our members would be put at risk,” he said.
However, Corbould said the city has no plans to shut down fire halls and that changes that could be on the table for consideration might include whether firefighters need to attend medical calls in situations that are not life-threatening.
No decisions have been made yet about any services under review, the city said.
Consulting firm KPMG has been retained to support these reviews. The city aims to have the reviews completed in time to present to council in June.
–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich