3 4


I believe that public service delivery for residents needs to be reliable and guaranteed to ensure the Medicine Hat Advantage. As mentioned above, residents pay taxes to have access to certain services and facilities. By increasing user fees or cutting these services, this erodes the Medicine Hat Advantage and negatively affects the confidence and contentment that people have in their community if people cannot access or take advantage for that which they pay taxes.


Scott Raible


1


I would insist that all legislation must be approved in public and that Council must meet, debate, and vote publicly, with each meeting streamed live, as well as recorded and made available on the City website.


I would also ensure that all votes made by the Mayor and Council are available online, listed by issue and decision, so residents could easily see how Council has voted on certain issues.


Any meetings of Council that were deemed to be closed meetings due to sensitivity issues shall be recorded in camera and released at a later date.


I also believe in more transparency in appointing residents to boards and committees by ensuring that the appointments and voting are made in open Council.


I also believe that there should be a record kept of every person who visits the Mayor’s office and that the Mayor’s schedule should be made public and available online.


2


I believe that the cost containment aspect of Financially Fit should be retained, but any further reliance on drastic increases to taxes and user fees needs to be scrapped. Residents pay taxes to have access to certain services and facilities, and to increases taxes, while increasing user fees creates an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer, without addressing the issues of financial mismanagement at City Hall.


I believe that the Financially Fit survey data from the online survey should not be used to make any further conclusions about the priorities of the residents of Medicine Hat and that input should take place through public round tables, hosted by Council, as well as through various data collection methods, to allow the widest demographic of Medicine Hat residents to give their input in regards to the tough decisions that are needed to be made to be truly “financially fit.”


3


Financially speaking the business unit was poorly run until 2016 due to a lack of a proper strategy to handle low gas prices. The City needs to grow and develop its oil production as well as continue to increase the production of electricity that can be sold off to generate revenue. The City needs to make researched decisions when investing in new oil ventures, so as not to repeat the mistake of when the City unwisely bought oil properties in Manyberries that cost the city millions due to a federal injunction. I believe we need to continue with the oil drilling and exploration in Saskatchewan, as well as exploring the possibility of drilling, extracting and refining helium in the area. The City also needs to diversify into renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and water, and continue to build up our Heritage Fund from the profits of the energy division.


Re-Elect


Julie Friesen Julie’s Vision for Medicine Hat


to City Council


~ Economic Vibrancy and Entrepreneurial Spirit ~ A Safe Community and Sound Infrastructure ~ Innovation and Diversification


~ Encouraging Citizens and Youth Leadership ~ Focus on People and Quality of Life ~ Commitment to Financial Sustainability


friesen8@telusplanet.net @JulieFriesen @JulieCFriesen


I believe that City Hall needs to focus on spending restraint by conducting value for money audits on each department at City Hall and provide departmental budgets based on the findings of those audits. Spending needs to be restricted to what is essential and what is needed, but not at the expense of public services that residents support with their tax dollars and that they rely on.


5


Medicine Hat is the best place to live with the lowest combined tax rate in Canada, the lowest utility rates in Alberta, and where there are more than 2,500 hours of sunshine a year. Recreation, shopping, and entertainment facilities are all within close proximity of wherever you live and we have amazing events year round including JazzFest and the Medicine Hat Stampede.


We also have a skilled workforce, within close proximity to markets in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the U.S., while offering excellent standard of living for employees. There is also an opportunity to build office headquarters on First Street that would allow the company to be in the heart of the community.


Medicine Hat is also the best place to retire as we have a vibrant seniors community, and there are a variety of accommodations for senior living, within close distance to many different amenities.


41318466 • 10/10/2017


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