state of the city
TRANSCRIPT
State of the City
Chamber of Commerce
November 1, 2007
The city that makes a difference
Overview
• Snapshot of the city
• Council’s first year: an update
• Key themes & opportunities for the future
The city that makes a difference
Snapshot of the city
• Population growth• Household income • Unemployment rate• Job rate • Assessment composition• Tax burden comparisons• City reserves & debt
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Population growth
The city that makes a difference
Household income
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Unemployment rate
Unemployment Rates Guelph vs. Ontario
0
2
4
6
8
2001 2006
6.8%
4.2%
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Job Rate – Jobs/100 peopleJob Rate
Waterloo 61.7 Guelph 58.7 Kingston 55.2 Cambridge 50.6 London 49.1 Burlington 47.1 Oakville 47.1 St. Catharines 45.1 Barrie 44.1 Brantford 43.3
71% of working Guelph residents are employed in Guelph
The city that makes a difference
Employment - successes• Synnex Canada 250 jobs
• Denso Manufacturing 322 jobs($78.2 M expansion)
• Skyjack 360 jobs($24.8 M investment)
• Data Centre 140 jobs
(120,000 sq. ft.)
The city that makes a difference
Employment - successes• Staybridge Suites
(5 storey, 116 room hotel)
• Fairfield Inn and Suites(5 storey, 88 room hotel)
• Capital One Ventures (two 40,000 square foot industrial buildings)
• Stone Road Mall expansion and renovations
The city that makes a difference
150% increase in industrial building permits ($) over 2006
Assessment composition (%)
Residential (Industrial)/ Commercial/ Institutional
Cambridge 79.8 20.2 (7.2) Brantford 82.2 17.8 (4.4) Barrie 82.8 17.2 (2.7) Burlington 83.0 17.0 (4.5) Guelph 83.7 16.3 (4.9) 2nd
London 84.4 15.6 (1.8) Kingston 85.3 14.7 (1.3) St. Catharines
85.4 14.6 (1.7)
Waterloo 85.9 14.1 (3.5) Oakville 86.2 13.8 (3.6)The city that makes a difference
Residential tax burden
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Industrial tax burden
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0
2
4
6
8
10
Cambridge
Brantfo
rd
Barrie
Oakvil
le
Kingsto
n
Guelph
Burlin
gton
Lond
on
St. Cat
harin
es
Water
loo
Avera
ge
Med
ian
Debt
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Debt charges as a % of expenditures
Debt ManagementNet Debt Charges vs 25% Net Revenue
$0
$10,000,000
$20,000,000
$30,000,000
$40,000,000
$50,000,000
$60,000,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Base Year
25% of Net Revenue Fund Revenue Net Debt Charges
The city that makes a difference
Reserves
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Reserves as a % of taxation
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Guelph
Lond
on
Barrie
Brantfo
rd
Oakvil
le
Burlin
gton
Kingsto
n
Water
loo
St. Cat
harin
es
Cambridge
Avera
ge
Med
ian
Reserves as a % of taxation
The first year
• Customer service• Asset management• Growth management• Continuous improvement• Global environmental concerns
The city that makes a difference
Customer Service• Community Design and
Development• Client-focused project management
• Building Department• On-line services• Biz Pal
• Finance• Tendering process
• New City Hall• Central customer service desk
The city that makes a difference
Customer feedback
“I am very impressed at how easy Guelph has made accessing tender information and documentation. Your no fee, no hassle online access approach has been a pleasure to navigate! Guelph has the least complicated, most user friendly municipal tender environment I have experienced to date!”
The city that makes a difference
What do we talk about?
Service Delivery Projects 80% to 90% of resources to service delivery & asset management
10% to 20% capacity for projects
The city that makes a difference
“Turning the crank”Budget• Approx. $300 M operating and capital in
2007
Assets• Water $370 M • Wastewater $480 M• Stormwater $300 M• Roads $380 M• Bridges $20 M
$1.55 billion of infrastructure assets
The city that makes a difference
“Turning the crank”• 420 km storm water pipe & 97 ponds• 502 km road• 496 km of water pipe• 457 km of sewer pipe• 522 hectares of park & open spaces• 4 million transit km travelled per year• 46,000 tonnes of solid waste• 19 M cubic metres of pumped & treated
water
The city that makes a difference
Growth strategy: Places to Grow
Greater Golden Horseshoe:
• Fastest growing urban area in Canada
• Third fastest growing urban area in North America
• Grow by over 4 million people by 2031
The city that makes a difference
Places to Grow• Good for the economy • 2 million new jobs • Attract innovators, skilled workers and
investment
But…• 45% longer commuting times• 42% increase in auto emissions • More than 1,000 square kilometres of
farmland consumed
The city that makes a difference
Implications for Guelph by 2031• 65,000 new residents
• 45,000 new jobs
• 40% of new growth in the built boundary i.e. not green field
• Substantial change in the form of growth
City boundary
Urban Growth Centre
Greenfield Areas
Built Boundary
City boundary
Urban Growth Centre
Greenfield Areas
Built Boundary
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Local Growth Strategy
Guelph Quest
• Guelph residents choose their future
Urban Design Guidelines
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Hanlon Creek Business Park
Land Strategy
South Guelph Lands
York Road Study
Actions
Short Term Supply Long Term Supply
Employment lands
The city that makes a difference
Hanlon Creek Business Park
South Guelph Employment Lands
TOTAL – 600 acres (243 ha.) by 2008
Downtown• New Downtown Economic
Development Manager hired• Community Improvement Plan for the
downtown • Multi-year plan for attracting
investment• New initiatives, e.g. visit Brantford to
see downtown university campus
The city that makes a difference
Downtown Redevelopment
Baker Street
Redevelopment Opportunity
The city that makes a difference
Redevelopment opportunity
The city that makes a difference
Downtown: Gummer & Victoria buildings
Photo: Candace Sepulis
The city that makes a difference
Partnership for redevelopment & intensification
Downtown: Parking• 2 hour free on-
street parking pilot
• Short and medium term parking plans developed
• Long-term parking strategy underway
The city that makes a difference
• 50 year Water Management Master Plan approved
• No consideration of a pipeline to Lake Erie
Water
The city that makes a difference
• Perfect score (100%) on Chief Drinking Water Inspector’s Annual Report for 2005-06
Wastewater• Optimization of the
performance of the existing system
• Potential deferral of a $20 million capital expansion from 2010 to 2024
• 50 year Waste Water Master Plan underway
The city that makes a difference
Waste management
• 50 Year Waste Management Master Plan underway
• Short-listing proven technologies to process our organic stream
The city that makes a difference
Waste Management• A 17.9% reduction from 2005 - $824,398 saved
The city that makes a difference
Cost of Residential Waste Collection
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
4.3
4.5
4.7
2005 2006 2007
in $million, adjusted for inflation
Transit
• Among Ontario cities with a population of 50,000 - 150,000• #1 in ridership (6 million trips) • #1 in efficiency rating (cost per trip) • #2 in effectiveness rating (trips per
capita)The city that makes a difference
Transit
• Service on statutory holidays
• GPS tracking system (NextBus)
• Currently 40-minute service at peak to ensure transfers
• Proposed budget expansion for 20-minute peak service in 2008
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On-time performance predictability
has risen from 40% to 85%
Guelph Police Service• Lower crime rate
than Ontario cities of similar size
• Declining overall crime rate
• Corporate Goal # 2 – Illegal Drugs
• New Co-ordinated Enforcement Team
• Substance Abuse Strategy
The city that makes a difference
New main public libraryGuelph Public Library Circulation
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007*(Projected)
32% increase
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• Increase in population of 65,000
• Net reduction in energy consumption
• Reduction in GHG from 16 to 7 tonnes
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Community Energy Plan
Future themes• Optimize opportunities: Baker Street;
Gummer & Victoria buildings; Loretto Convent
• Plan for growth: community participation; infrastructure sustainability
• Build on strengths: engaged citizens; heritage and culture; vibrant downtown; diverse economy
• Grow a sustainable future: world leader in energy conservation; leading-edge waste management, water, and wastewater systems
The city that makes a difference
Future opportunity
The city that makes a difference
York D
istri
ct
Downtown
The city that makes a difference
Innovation District (York lands)
= 426 ha.
Current Employment Land
Inventory=
433.25 ha.The city that makes a difference
• Integrated energy planning
• Research & Innovation
• Waste Resource Innovation Centre
• Reduce waste• Increase diversion • Extract value
Guelph Innovation District
The city that makes a difference
Guelph Innovation District
• Employment• Education• Environment• Energy • Excellence
The city that makes a difference