This is our chance to say “thank you” to Public Works employees who help keep roads and sidewalks safe and contribute to our quality of life. Come with family and friends and learn more about Public Works. There will be an Open House on Saturday, May 25.

Four new button to push – look to the right of your page. Visit Guelph Guelph Wellington Immigration Portal Guelph Cultural Mapping Project Connect Guelph Business Directory They take you to a wealth of information.

Last night Council received a new budget model and supporting budget formula. It sounds simple in the telling. The budget formula that our management team will use to develop the budget for Council’s consideration has three components: Cost of living e.g. increases in fuel costs Growth e.g. the need to add a new waste collection route […]

Curbside waste carts program brings home the Pinnacle  GUELPH, ON, April 12, 2013 – The City Guelph was honoured for excellence in communications last night at the Canadian Public Relations Society Pinnacle Awards in Hamilton.  The City’s multi-year communications campaign—Give waste a new life—to support the conversion of Guelph’s curbside waste collection system won the […]

Our first internal audit will be considered by our Audit Committee next week. It is significant in many ways and not just because it is our first. I learned about the role of an Internal Auditor during a module on Audit Committees and their financial oversight responsibilities.  This was part of the curriculum of The Directors […]

There are several things that impress me when reading the proposed Community Engagement Framework report.  See earlier post. Here are some of them. It is presented as a policy not a guideline (very important in government). It applies to all departments, staff and community engagement activities. The development of the framework was championed internally by a […]

I have a friend and mentor who served on Council during the 60s, 70s and 80s.  When I asked him about public delegations, he said “we didn’t have them”. I may be wrong but I think the first formal effort to engage members of the public in local decision making was in the mid to […]

I remember the first time I made a delegation to City Council.  The year was 1990. I remember being very nervous and spending a lot of time writing my speaking notes and getting the timing right to ensure I stayed within 5 minutes. I remember several members of Council talking with each other, backs turned […]

You do not have to be a municipal councillor long to realize there’s a small percentage of residents that have no qualms about wreaking havoc on the lives of others.　 They are staggeringly self-centred, entitled and arrogant.　 Just when you think you have seen it all, you are proven wrong. As a local government, whenever […]

One of the issues raised during consultations for the Community Wellbeing Initiative was to reduce commute times and to promote living and working in community.  I couldn’t agree more. Long commutes can be frustrating. Gridlock is estimated to cost the Canadian economy $10 billion a year. In this regard, I encourage you to join the […]