Budget 101 Follow-up

On September 14, 2021, the City hosted Budget 101, an interactive webinar to help demystify the City's finances and the considerations that go into creating the annual City Budget. Thank you to all the community members who attended the webinar and asked questions to our panel of city staff. If you were not able to join, catch up with a recording of the session here.

A wide variety of questions were asked, some of which we were not able to answer on the spot. The City committed to responding to these questions, and in the spirit of transparency, we are making these questions and answers available to all. Please see the questions and answers below.

Additionally, during the webinar we committed to sharing out a number of resources including reports, strategies and community plans. Please visit the Budget 101 Documents Folder to access these resources.

Questions and Answers:

Q: “Are you able to give update on when the new recycling depot is to open? Has the city reconsidered having a local recycling drop off point.”

A: The United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre is expected to open by end of the year. The City is committed to hosting monthly pop-up recycling events on the third Saturday of every month until the end of 2021. The next pop-up recycling event will take place Saturday, September 18 at our Operations Yard at 901 First Street from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. There are also many other local recycling locations you can visit in New West, click here for a list of locations.

Q: “I've seen a lot of discarded PPE, mainly masks, on New West sidewalks and in our parks. This discarded PPE is environmentally unsustainable and is particularly harmful to wildlife. Does the city have any ideas or initiatives for dealing with this issue, which is probably only going to get worse?”

A: Unfortunately staff do come across discarded PPE as well as plenty of other general garbage in parks and on sidewalks, etc. City staff maintain our parks daily, and we do our best to make sure the parks are clean and safe for all users and wildlife. When it comes to sidewalks and plazas, City staff spend time cleaning and maintaining these areas in commercial districts but don’t generally patrol sidewalks in residential neighbourhoods.

That said, staff are happy to assist if a known issue is reported that requires attention. The City’s free smartphone application, SeeClickFix, can be downloaded on all android and iOS devices to make it easier for residents to report such concerns.

Ultimately, this is a littering issue not an issue that is specific to PPE. It is generally the same people who would litter garbage who are also littering their PPE, and we encourage residents to be responsible with their waste and dispose of it correctly.