Workbook Page 28
City (or municipal) governments are different from national and provincial governments because there are no political parties in the city government. People also vote for the Mayor directly, unlike in Alberta and Canada elections where people only vote for the representative of their riding.
Each City also votes for City Councillors or Aldermen.
Who is the Mayor of your city?
How many members of City Council are there?
Who are the City Councillors?
If you do not know, you can find out by clicking on the name of your city below:
Airdrie
Brooks
Calgary
Camrose
Cold Lake
Edmonton
Fort Saskatchewan
Grande Prairie
Lacombe
Leduc
Lethbridge
Lloydminster
Medicine Hat
Red Deer
Spruce Grove
St. Albert
Wetaskiwin
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Who Represents Me on City Council?
In most Alberta cities, each Councillor represents all citizens as a Councillor-at-Large. In Calgary and Edmonton, the City Council is made up of Councillors who represent different sets of neighbourhoods called a ward.Here is a map of Calgary wards. Click on the map and find where you live on it or type in your address in the Location box. Then find the City Councillor for that ward here.
Here is a map of Edmonton wards. Click on the map and find where you live on it. Then find the City Councillor for that ward here.
Put the name of your City Councillor in the blue box on Page 29 of your workbook.
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What Does the City Government Do?
City governments run programs to help people where they live, work and play. Here are some City programs you may know about and use:
Fire Department
Clean Water
Garbage and recycling
Public Transit (in places with City buses)
Clean and Fix Streets
Parks and Recreation
License Pets
...and programs for poor people like low-cost housing, food bank, and Family & Community Support Services (FCSS).
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Next Page
What Do City Council Members Do?
City Council members meet all together and on committees where they talk about things like money and rules. Some meetings are private and some are open to the public. You can speak at some of these meetings. (We will talk more about how to do this later.)
Different City Councils have their meetings on different days. Here is how it works in Calgary.
Twice a month, Calgary City Council meets all day on a Monday. The meeting can last from 9:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night with breaks for meals. Or it may end earlier. You can speak at one of these two City Council meetings.
The last week in November, Calgary City Council meets all week just to talk about the budget. You can speak to City Council at these budget meetings to say how you think the City's money should be spent.
Committee meetings in Calgary take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Every Calgary City Council member is on at least four Committees. They use the rest of their time to read reports, meet with staff and other people, and go to community events and speak.
You can find out when City Council and its Committees will meet and what they will talk about (the agenda) on your City's website.
Calgary SPCs meet on Wednesday every two weeks. They talk about important City programs. Changes to those programs are discussed first in the SPC before going to City Council for approval. You can speak at an SPC meeting. Here are the SPCs in Calgary and what they do:
The Community & Protective Services SPC includes
Meetings of City Council and its Committees are often recorded. You can watch them on a computer with the Internet.
The agenda (or plan) for the next meeting and reports they will talk about are listed a few days ahead of time. You can use this to decide if you should attend the meeting and speak up about the topic on the agenda.
You can also find out what happened at the meeting by reading the Minutes or watching the Video if there is one.
You can find these things on your City website.
Different City Councils have their meetings on different days. Here is how it works in Calgary.Twice a month, Calgary City Council meets all day on a Monday. The meeting can last from 9:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night with breaks for meals. Or it may end earlier. You can speak at one of these two City Council meetings.
The last week in November, Calgary City Council meets all week just to talk about the budget. You can speak to City Council at these budget meetings to say how you think the City's money should be spent.Committee meetings in Calgary take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Every Calgary City Council member is on at least four Committees. They use the rest of their time to read reports, meet with staff and other people, and go to community events and speak.
You can find out when City Council and its Committees will meet and what they will talk about (the agenda) on your City's website.
Workbook Page 32
City Council Committees
City Council has two types of committees: Standing Policy Committees (SPCs) and other committees they add as needed. They call these committees different things in different places. Here is how they work in Calgary.Calgary SPCs meet on Wednesday every two weeks. They talk about important City programs. Changes to those programs are discussed first in the SPC before going to City Council for approval. You can speak at an SPC meeting. Here are the SPCs in Calgary and what they do:
The Community & Protective Services SPC includes
- Parks & Recreation
- Social services like affordable housing
- Bylaws (City laws) about things like pets and noise
- Fire and ambulance services
- Streets
- Parking
- Calgary Transit
- Building approvals
- Property taxes
- Utilities (water)
- Garbage
- Recycling
Other City Council Committees
The other main City Council Committees in Calgary are the- Priorities & Finance Committee
- Audit Committee
- Land & Asset Strategy
- Intergovernmental Affairs
- Gas, Power & Telecommunications
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You Can Hear and See What City Government Does
The agenda (or plan) for the next meeting and reports they will talk about are listed a few days ahead of time. You can use this to decide if you should attend the meeting and speak up about the topic on the agenda.
You can also find out what happened at the meeting by reading the Minutes or watching the Video if there is one.
You can find these things on your City website.
