Calgary City Council

The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The Council consists of two offices; Office of the Mayor and Office of the Alderman. The Office of the Mayor represents the mayor of Calgary, Dave Bronconnier, the 35th mayor of Calgary. The Office of the Alderman consists of 14 Aldermen (or councillors), each of whom represent the 14 wards of Calgary.

Elections

The mayor of Calgary is elected through a city-wide vote by all eligible voters. The mayor represents the interests of the city as a whole.

The aldermen are elected by the constituents of each ward. The aldermen represent the interests of their respective wards.

The mayor and aldermen hold the office for 3 year terms.

The next election will be the 2010 Calgary municipal election.

Governing System

Calgary's City Council is a council-policy committee system. The Council establishes its policies for governing the city based on information provided by four standing policy committees:

# Operations and environment,
# Finance,
# Transportation, and
# Community services.

These committees meet once every month the at City Hall and are composed of aldermen and are responsible for approving and recommending policies to City Council. The general public is invited to the committee meeting to make presentations. Any decisions that come out of these meetings need final approval from the Council as a whole.

There are also a number of civic committees, boards, and authorities that help to create policies in specialized areas, such as parking, the preservation of heritage sites and buildings, and planning and development matters. These civic committees, board and authorities consist of citizens and one or more alderman.

City Council meets three Mondays every month in the Council Chambers at the Calgary Municipal Building. Two meetings are regular Council meetings, where issues from the four policy committees are discussed. The third meeting is a public hearing, where planning matters are generally discussed. Citizens do not address Council during the two regular meetings, however the public hearings are designed for the citizens to speak directly with their elected aldermen regarding specific issues.

Financing

The city has an operating budget of $2.1 billion for 2007, supported 41% by property taxes. $757 million in property taxes are collected annually, with $386 million from residential and $371 million from non-residential properties. [Cite web| url= http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/finance/budget/2007_2008/financial_fast_facts.pdf | title= Financial Facts | author= City of Calgary | year= 2007 | month= January | accessdate= 2007-03-13] 54% of the budget is spent for wages of the 13,043 city employees and expeditures. The average Calgary household pays approximately $2,100 per year in city tax. [$386 million were collected from 332,955 occupied dwellings in 2006]

History

Mayor

From 1823 to 1923, mayoralty elections were held annually. A plebiscite held in 1923 increased the term in office for the mayor from one to two years. In 1968, the Municipal Act increased the term in office by one year, for a total of three years.

Aldermen

From 1884 to 1886, four councillors were selected from the town. In 1894, Calgary was divided into three wards, increasing the number of councilors to six. Three Aldermen represented each ward. In 1906, a fourth ward was created, bringing the total number of Aldermen to 12.

From 1914 to 1960, Aldermen were elected from across the city for two-year terms, dismantling the ward system.

A plebiscite in 1960 re-established the ward system in the city. Six wards were established, each represented by two Aldermen. In 1976 the number of wards expanded to 14 (current number) with one Alderman representing each ward. The term of office for Mayor and Alderman is three years.

Wards, Communities and Aldermen

ee also

*List of mayors of Calgary, Alberta
*List of neighbourhoods in Calgary

References

:* [http://www.calgary.ca City of Calgary]