state of the city

State of the City

Chamber of Commerce

November 1, 2007

The city that makes a difference

Overview

• Snapshot of the city

• Council’s first year: an update

• Key themes & opportunities for the future


Snapshot of the city

• Population growth• Household income • Unemployment rate• Job rate • Assessment composition• Tax burden comparisons• City reserves & debt


Population growth


Household income


Unemployment rate

Unemployment Rates Guelph vs. Ontario

0

2

4

6

8

2001 2006

6.8%

4.2%


Job Rate – Jobs/100 peopleJob Rate

Waterloo 61.7 Guelph 58.7 Kingston 55.2 Cambridge 50.6 London 49.1 Burlington 47.1 Oakville 47.1 St. Catharines 45.1 Barrie 44.1 Brantford 43.3

71% of working Guelph residents are employed in Guelph


Employment - successes• Synnex Canada 250 jobs

• Denso Manufacturing 322 jobs($78.2 M expansion)

• Skyjack 360 jobs($24.8 M investment)

• Data Centre 140 jobs

(120,000 sq. ft.)


Employment - successes• Staybridge Suites

(5 storey, 116 room hotel)

• Fairfield Inn and Suites(5 storey, 88 room hotel)

• Capital One Ventures (two 40,000 square foot industrial buildings)

• Stone Road Mall expansion and renovations


150% increase in industrial building permits ($) over 2006

Assessment composition (%)

Residential (Industrial)/ Commercial/ Institutional

Cambridge 79.8 20.2 (7.2) Brantford 82.2 17.8 (4.4) Barrie 82.8 17.2 (2.7) Burlington 83.0 17.0 (4.5) Guelph 83.7 16.3 (4.9) 2nd

London 84.4 15.6 (1.8) Kingston 85.3 14.7 (1.3) St. Catharines

85.4 14.6 (1.7)

Waterloo 85.9 14.1 (3.5) Oakville 86.2 13.8 (3.6)The city that makes a difference

Residential tax burden


Industrial tax burden


0

2

4

6

8

10

Cambridge

Brantfo

rd

Barrie

Oakvil

le

Kingsto

n

Guelph

Burlin

gton

Lond

on

St. Cat

harin

es

Water

loo

Avera

ge

Med

ian

Debt


Debt charges as a % of expenditures

Debt ManagementNet Debt Charges vs 25% Net Revenue

$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Base Year

25% of Net Revenue Fund Revenue Net Debt Charges


Reserves


Reserves as a % of taxation

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Guelph

Lond

on

Barrie

Brantfo

rd

Oakvil

le

Burlin

gton

Kingsto

n

Water

loo

St. Cat

harin

es

Cambridge

Avera

ge

Med

ian

Reserves as a % of taxation

The first year

• Customer service• Asset management• Growth management• Continuous improvement• Global environmental concerns


Customer Service• Community Design and

Development• Client-focused project management

• Building Department• On-line services• Biz Pal

• Finance• Tendering process

• New City Hall• Central customer service desk


Customer feedback

“I am very impressed at how easy Guelph has made accessing tender information and documentation. Your no fee, no hassle online access approach has been a pleasure to navigate! Guelph has the least complicated, most user friendly municipal tender environment I have experienced to date!”


What do we talk about?

Service Delivery Projects 80% to 90% of resources to service delivery & asset management

10% to 20% capacity for projects


“Turning the crank”Budget• Approx. $300 M operating and capital in

2007

Assets• Water $370 M • Wastewater $480 M• Stormwater $300 M• Roads $380 M• Bridges $20 M

$1.55 billion of infrastructure assets


“Turning the crank”• 420 km storm water pipe & 97 ponds• 502 km road• 496 km of water pipe• 457 km of sewer pipe• 522 hectares of park & open spaces• 4 million transit km travelled per year• 46,000 tonnes of solid waste• 19 M cubic metres of pumped & treated

water


Growth strategy: Places to Grow

Greater Golden Horseshoe:

• Fastest growing urban area in Canada

• Third fastest growing urban area in North America

• Grow by over 4 million people by 2031


Places to Grow• Good for the economy • 2 million new jobs • Attract innovators, skilled workers and

investment

But…• 45% longer commuting times• 42% increase in auto emissions • More than 1,000 square kilometres of

farmland consumed


Implications for Guelph by 2031• 65,000 new residents

• 45,000 new jobs

• 40% of new growth in the built boundary i.e. not green field

• Substantial change in the form of growth

City boundary

Urban Growth Centre

Greenfield Areas

Built Boundary

City boundary

Urban Growth Centre

Greenfield Areas

Built Boundary


Local Growth Strategy

Guelph Quest

• Guelph residents choose their future

Urban Design Guidelines


Hanlon Creek Business Park

Land Strategy

South Guelph Lands

York Road Study

Actions

Short Term Supply Long Term Supply

Employment lands


Hanlon Creek Business Park

South Guelph Employment Lands

TOTAL – 600 acres (243 ha.) by 2008

Downtown• New Downtown Economic

Development Manager hired• Community Improvement Plan for the

downtown • Multi-year plan for attracting

investment• New initiatives, e.g. visit Brantford to

see downtown university campus


Downtown Redevelopment

Baker Street

Redevelopment Opportunity


Redevelopment opportunity


Downtown: Gummer & Victoria buildings

Photo: Candace Sepulis


Partnership for redevelopment & intensification

Downtown: Parking• 2 hour free on-

street parking pilot

• Short and medium term parking plans developed

• Long-term parking strategy underway


• 50 year Water Management Master Plan approved

• No consideration of a pipeline to Lake Erie

Water


• Perfect score (100%) on Chief Drinking Water Inspector’s Annual Report for 2005-06

Wastewater• Optimization of the

performance of the existing system

• Potential deferral of a $20 million capital expansion from 2010 to 2024

• 50 year Waste Water Master Plan underway


Waste management

• 50 Year Waste Management Master Plan underway

• Short-listing proven technologies to process our organic stream


Waste Management• A 17.9% reduction from 2005 - $824,398 saved


Cost of Residential Waste Collection

3.5

3.7

3.9

4.1

4.3

4.5

4.7

2005 2006 2007

in $million, adjusted for inflation

Transit

• Among Ontario cities with a population of 50,000 - 150,000• #1 in ridership (6 million trips) • #1 in efficiency rating (cost per trip) • #2 in effectiveness rating (trips per

capita)The city that makes a difference

Transit

• Service on statutory holidays

• GPS tracking system (NextBus)

• Currently 40-minute service at peak to ensure transfers

• Proposed budget expansion for 20-minute peak service in 2008


On-time performance predictability

has risen from 40% to 85%

Guelph Police Service• Lower crime rate

than Ontario cities of similar size

• Declining overall crime rate

• Corporate Goal # 2 – Illegal Drugs

• New Co-ordinated Enforcement Team

• Substance Abuse Strategy


New main public libraryGuelph Public Library Circulation

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007*(Projected)

32% increase


• Increase in population of 65,000

• Net reduction in energy consumption

• Reduction in GHG from 16 to 7 tonnes


Community Energy Plan

Future themes• Optimize opportunities: Baker Street;

Gummer & Victoria buildings; Loretto Convent

• Plan for growth: community participation; infrastructure sustainability

• Build on strengths: engaged citizens; heritage and culture; vibrant downtown; diverse economy

• Grow a sustainable future: world leader in energy conservation; leading-edge waste management, water, and wastewater systems


Future opportunity


York D

istri

ct

Downtown


Innovation District (York lands)

= 426 ha.

Current Employment Land

Inventory=

433.25 ha.The city that makes a difference

• Integrated energy planning

• Research & Innovation

• Waste Resource Innovation Centre

• Reduce waste• Increase diversion • Extract value

Guelph Innovation District


Guelph Innovation District

• Employment• Education• Environment• Energy • Excellence


state of the city

Business

city councils

difference reserves

difference partnership

city chamber of commerce

difference debt charges

new growth

new jobs

easy guelph