The Politico Calendar for November 2017

A warmer than normal October gives way to a chillier than expected November, but the Politico Calendar is still chock-a-block with things to do as we enter the busy holiday season. 

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the November 8 Meeting?

The biggest piece of the the 2018 Budget, the Tax -Supported Operating Budget, has finally been revealed for all to see. The very general overview of the numbers we're talking about and the increases (and in some cases, decreases) you will see are outlined below. 

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for October 1-31, 2017

Twice-monthly, Guelph Politico posts the latest inspection results from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit inspection of local restaurants, hotels, cafes, grocery stores and other businesses that handle food. We call it "Mangez!", and this column highlights the latest inspections done by WDGPH, and the results they've posted.

Committee of the Whole Preview - What's on the Agenda for the November 6 Meeting?

This month at Committe-of-the-Whole, we hear from the Audit, Public, and Corporate Services portfolios, and we begin part two of the debate to decide the fate of the proposed trail beneath Speedvale Bridge. 

Follow-Up to the Poverty Dialogue

If you attended the Mayor's Dialogue on Poverty, or saw it online thru Facebook Live, or listened to the podcast version through Guelph Politicast, the City has shared some follow-up material for you, and anyone else interested in some of the background information Guelph-Wellington Bridges Out of Poverty facilitator and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health nurse Elaine Weir brought to her presentation.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 26, 2017

Budget battles begin as delegates offer their opinions on the 2018 Capital Budget, and the 2018 Non-Tax Supported Budget. You can click here for the agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

GUELPH POLITICAST #101 - Mayor’s Dialogue on Poverty

There's no doubt that there are people in Guelph of limited means that desperately need help, but for every person that knows what need looks like, there are others that see someone poor and sees someone that just hasn't pulled up their own bootstraps far enough. But seriously, how can someone in the middle class or otherwise upwardly mobile understand the plight of people in poverty?

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 23, 2017

Before diving into the first meeting on the 2018 budget later this week, there's still the regular business of council to dispatch. You can click here for the agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the November 2 Meeting?

City council will be dispatching two sections of the 2018 budget in short order at the beginning of November in a special Thursday meeting. 

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the October 26 Meeting?

Tax season officially begins next Thursday with the presentation of the 2018 Non-Tax Supported Operating Budget, the 2018 Capital Budget, and the 2019-2027 Capital Forecast. Take heed, this there will only be a one week break between when this is presented, and when council votes on it. 

Guelph Hydro to Begin Merger Negotiations With Alectra Utilities

You could cut the giddiness with a knife this afternoon at city hall as the results of the Strategies and Options Committee's search for a potential merger partner with Guelph Hydro has bore fruit. If everything goes according to plan, then Guelph Hydro and Alectra Utilities will merge in the near future, with a completed deal coming before council for a vote in mid-December.

GUELPH POLITICAST #100 - Gerry Barker, Guelph Speaks

It took six long years to get here, but the day has finally arrived. Welcome, to the 100th episode of the Guelph Politicast! To celebrate this auspicious occasion, I wanted a surprise guest. Someone my dedicated audience might never have expected, but nonetheless would enjoy hearing from. In the end,  there was only one person I could think of. For 100 episodes you've heard Guelph speak, well now you'll hear from the guy that does "Guelph Speaks".

The Official Plan is Officially Official

A little more than 65 months after city council passed the latest update to the Official Plan, OPA 48, it is finally the law that governs the development of the land. The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) approved the City’s Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 48 with some modifications on October 5.

VIDEO: Guelphites Walk for Freedom, and to End Human Trafficking

In a world that is already often dark and disturbing, we rarely like to be reminded of how dark and disturbing it can really be. Guelphites though dared to challenge that darkness Saturday morning by Walking for Freedom, in an event aimed to raise awareness of, and help put a stop to human trafficking.

LISTEN: Chong and May Talk about Government Reform and Turning Parliament Inside Out

As you may have heard, electoral reform is a hot button issue in Guelph, which is why when Fair Vote Guelph decided to bring a couple of high-profile federal figures to town to talk about it, a few hundred people were interested in hearing what they had to say. So if you happened to have missed the talk featuring Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May and Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong on Tuesday, this is your chance to hear it. And if you did happen to the be there, this is your chance to hear it again.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the October 23 Meeting?

The regular meeting of council this month will be pretty straightforward with the presentation of some survey results, the consent agenda from Committee-of-the-Whole, and a simple real estate transaction for the Humane Society. 

Schreiner and May Smell Electoral Success in Open Guelph Race

"Guelph is a green town," declared Elizabeth May. The Green Party of Canada leader meant small 'g', not capital 'G' of course, but if it all goes according to plan, then this time next year, May and her Ontario counterpart, Mike Schreiner, will be able to boast that Guelph is both "green" and "Green".

GUELPH POLITICAST #99 - Listener Q and A

You had questions, and I had answers. Last week, I put out a request on the various social media lines for your queries about current events at city council and the City of Guelph, and you responded with about a dozen of them. This is where you get your answers.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 10, 2017

A couple of additions to the heritage file, plus a new mid-rise proposal for Gordon Street are on the agenda for October's planning meeting. You can click here for the agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

POLITICO FEATURE - The Bridge to Disharmony: Guelph's Complex Reaction to Scientology's Arrival

The Church of Scientology is taking over 40 Baker Street as the administrative headquarters for their organization, which has naturally prompted some controversy. In this first monthly investigative Politico feature, we take a look at Scientology in Canada, why they've come to Guelph, and why people are concerned about what they're doing now that they're here.

SHOCKER: Sandals Will Not Run for Re-Election in 2018.

In a surprise announcement today, Guelph MPP and President of the Treasury Board, Liz Sandals, announced that she will not seek re-election in 2018. "After a summer of discussion with my husband and children, I have made the difficult decision to retire – and so I will not be running in the next provincial election," she said in a statement.

GUELPH POLITICAST #98 - Tara Baker, City Treasurer

It's the most wonderful time of the year... if math is a hobby, or you fetishize your calculator. Yes, the 2018 budget deliberations are about to start at city council, and to put you in a budgeting kind of mood, we go behind the curtain this week to see how the the ones and zeros add up before they make it to the council floor.

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole for October 2, 2017

Happy October! Let's discuss Governance, Public Services, and Infrastructure, Development & Enterprise. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of today's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of today's committee meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the October 10 Meeting?

At this month's planning meeting, city council will designate two new heritage properties and rejigger some development fees. Oh, and they hope you like the idea of another mid-rise apartment building along Gordon Street...