Edmonton Minute: Police Commission, School Budgets, and a Productive Safety Meeting

Edmonton Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Edmonton politics

This Week In Edmonton:

• City Hall will begin a week of meetings on Tuesday with a meeting of the Agenda Review Committee at 8:30 am, followed by a City Council meeting at 9:30 am. At the latter meeting, Council will discuss the spring capital budget adjustment, along with a 2023-2032 capital investment outlook, and a 2023-2032 operational outlook. Council will also continue discussions about the police funding formula. Should this meeting not wrap up by the scheduled time, there may be a continuation of the meeting on Friday at 9:30 am.
  
  
• Wednesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a Special City Council meeting to have a discussion about the Edmonton Police Commission. Readers might recall that tensions are running high over the police funding formula and an alleged conflict of interest on the Commission. Also on Wednesday, there will be a City Council Public Hearing at 1:30 pm to discuss minor zoning amendments.
  
  
• If you're looking for a cheap family outing, the Edmonton River Hawks in the West Coast League have their home opener tonight against the Portland Pickles. The River Hawks play baseball out of the Remax Field near Rossdale and grandstand tickets are under $20.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• Mayor Sohi met with Alberta Justice Minister, Tyler Shandro, after the Minister demanded Edmonton’s mayor present a public safety plan within two weeks to deal with crime and chaos in downtown, Chinatown, and on Edmonton Public Transit. The demand had followed an especially violent week in Chinatown where two men were killed in unprovoked attacks. The mayor presented a 40-item plan which included decentralizing social services from Chinatown. Both parties describe the meeting as “productive.”
  
  
• The Edmonton Public School Board tabled a $1.2 billion budget, but said that due to an increase in costs on items like staffing, utilities, maintenance, and insurance, 138 educational assistant positions could be cut. Chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, Trisha Estabrooks, said that the tight budget was partially due to the new funding formula put in place by the Province. The provincial government says that the School Board was well-funded.
  
  
• The City launched a pilot program to respond to drug poisonings. Since mid-May, drug overdose prevention teams have been patrolling the streets of Edmonton, made up of a nurse and social worker. The initiative is being run by Boyle Street Community Services. The City is providing $195,000 for the program, which is funded through the Downtown Vibrancy Strategy.

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