What Concerns You?

Being informed and participating is the best way a voter can contribute to the process of democracy. Instead of Jeremy Zhao telling you what he thinks, isn't it about time you told him what you want? Feel free to send in your thoughts and ideas and help me build on my platform. Email Jeremy at crazy.jz@gmail.com with what your concerns are, why, and what solutions you would implement. Isn't it more exciting and encouraging that your ideas are on Jeremy's platform? He will be accepting ideas and suggestions all the way up until election day.

The platform has been updated thanks to the input I have received from many Calgarians! I hope this better reflects the goals of all Calgarians! Old Platform

Public Transit

Lack of Service

Have you ever been frustrated that the bus/c-train takes such a long time to get to your stop? Or possibly that you get frustrated when routes or times change without adaquate notice? Jeremy is too since he takes the transit to school/work everyday! If you have concerns or recommendations, feel free to email Jeremy at crazy.jz@gmail.com.

Solutions:
• Cut un-needed bus stops that are under-used.
• Maximum 20 minute wait times for many bus routes. An example would be the 20 during nights, which still serves many university students.
• Increase non-peak hour service for C-trains from 10 to 8 minutes
• Increased C-train service during special events, such as playoffs for example
• Better routes which can avoid busy rush hour traffic or routes
• Construction detours and route changes at least 2 week ahead posted on all buses and C-trains
• Notices in front of stops near Asian supermarkets and Chinatown to better inform seniors of visible minority and new Canadians
• 24 hour transit services: Start with a pilot project for 45 minute services for C-Trains and major bus routes after 1am. Please note that this is slated as a pilot project meaning that Calgarians will also be able to contribute input. Another great solution is to allow for C-trains to run from 5am to 2am and then having only major bus routes take citizens to areas between 2am and 5am. This would most likely be the 3, 301, 72 and 73 for a start.
• Better bus/C-train schedule updates on the phone service. Currently, buses are the schedules are not always in sync with each other. By maintaining and keeping the current phone service updated and in sync, this will not interfere with the lives of Calgarians.
• On time service rather than just increasing buses and C-trains to solve problems.

Encouraging Courtesy

There are a number of small measures that can be taken in order to increase the capacity of the busses and C-trains. It will also help move people in and out of busses/C-trains faster.

Solutions:
• Passengers are asked to move to the back of the bus or in towards the center of C-trains when there is no room to stand
• Passengers are asked to exit through the back of the bus except those with reduced mobility or have children
• Passengers are reminded to do the above via intercom or frequent announcements
• Passengers are also reminded to prepare to get off the bus instead of waiting last minute
• A study on Public Annoucement Systems on buses and LRTs should be developed to remind Calgarians in order to allow for more people on buses and LRTs.

Vandalism

There are obvious ideas that the City can easily employ in order to reduce and deter the amount of vandalism that happens at bus shelters and benches. The City seems to waste taxpayers' money on one time fixes.

Solutions:
• A bus shelter is to keep people dry and to allow for city, not for aesthetics. All shelters need to be replaced with plastic rather than glass windows.
• Suggestions for checkered glass rather than a full pane to be implemented in order to reduce the vandalism.
• Benches need to be protected with a thin layer of clear plastic to discourage vandals from writing or coloring on advertisements.
• Advertisers will have to pay an additional fee in order to help maintain shelters and to cover the cost of any vandalism, or they can buy the advertising space and be responsible for the damages incurred. Our society is already saturated with mass media, so whether or not bus shelters have advertisements will not be an issue. This will apply to both shelters and benches. The city will still maintain shelthers and benches which do not have advertising on them.

Environment:

As the world becomes increasingly proactive in helping the environment, the City can also do more in order to help reduce greenhouse gases and save some money.

Solutions:
• Buying newer buses that will be environmentally friendly and would save gas and cut emissions when idling.
• City needs to look into electronic passes rather than wasting resources on transfers and tickets.
• A debit-style pass could also be looked into so that the pass can be used over and over again. In order to accomodate for transfers, a magnetic strip system can be used in order to facilitate this need.

Low Income / Students

Jeremy supports the continuation of the low income passes and the U-Pass in partnership with various post-secondary institutions around Calgary.

Solutions:
• Continued committments for the Low Income Monthly Pass beyond December 2007 with the same rate.
• Support for the U-Pass with the same rate and no increases. Currently the U-Pass is $75 at the University of Calgary, $95 at Mount Royal College, and at $70 SAIT. These rates should be fixed over the next 2 to 3 years instead of going up.

Parking Lots

As our transit system expands, our city needs to address the problem of under-developed park and ride parking lots for citizens.

Solutions
• The West LRT stations need to have adaquate parking spots for citizens. These are crucial for many families who have other errands to take care and need prompt transportation after taking the LRT. The city needs to look into the parking space available and needs to communicate with land owners about how to fit these parking lots in.
• A study into more parkades in park and ride parking lots. If there is additional land available on top of the parking lots currently available, then private businesses could also establish more parkades. This is only a study and should be something that the city needs to explore.

West LRT / North LRT

So citizens are caught wondering what the future of the West LRT holds? What about the North and Southeast lines? Instead of canceling a project, or trying to speed up a canceled project with deadlines that cannot be met in a job shortage crisis, Jeremy has a better plan.

• Let's make the first step by bringing back the West LRT plans with funding from federal, provincial, and private sponsors. Once we have that plan in place, the West LRT can start and be completed by the estimated date of 2015.
• How will funding work? Every business needs to start somewhere, and usually that place is a defecit, so the West LRT, whether enough funding is in place or not, should start with a defecit and slowly be repaid through more gas tax and private sponsors.
• Need more money? All the ideas that Jeremy has covered in Public transit will save a significant amount of money directed towards the West LRT funding.
• West LRT is A priority, not the only priority. Some candidates have made it into such a big deal, that other issues at hand are not being appropriately addressed.

What about plans for other routes?

North LRT
• Slated to be done by 2020
• The only reason why the number 3 is Calgary's main route is due to a lack of LRT service heading north. This puts the south at a disadvantage even with the Somerset-Bridlewood route. With a north route, there is less strain on the number 3 and BRT services, which frees up more buses for other routes.
• North LRT provides service to a community less affluent that the West LRT.

Southeast LRT
• Slated to be done by 2025
• Less strain on the current southwest LRT line.
• With new red C-trains introduced this year, service will not be affected in terms of the number of trains, but possibly affected due to worker shortage
• BRTs work in partnership with the southeast line as construction progresses.

Affordable Housing

Have more suggestions than the ones below? Send them to me at crazy.jz@gmail.com. Thanks!

Affordable housing is a problem and is not a magic fix. If it were, it would not be a problem. There is no one solution or the solution to fix the current problems. Jeremy will look into and act on any of the solutions below in order to help Calgarians get the affordable housing they deserve.

Solutions:
• Buying more land from developers and the provincial government specifically for housing. With more land bought by the municipal government, this will ensure that affordable housing will be built on it.
• Any units owned by the city should be converted to large density apartments affordable to residents.
• Diverting more money from the current budget for transitional and supportive housing. If Calgarians want crime and homelessness reduced, we need to introduce a number of housing units and programs in order to help those who are the cause of crime in downtown and around Calgary. There is no point in investing in anything that would be of recreational or entainment value if the streets are unsafe and people cannot safely access them.
• Condo conversions need to be scrutinized and need to be planned 2 years in advance.
• Working with communities to fast-track more ways of legalizing more secondary basement suites.
• Encourage more private donations to post-secondary colleges so that funds can be raised for more residence on campus. Students should not be affected with the housing crisis, as their education and their future should be the most important things for them.
• Inclusionary Zoning - Requiring private developers to set aside land for medium-low income families. This could be anywhere from 5-10% of a certain community being developed.
• Not only is affordable housing important, transit services need to be near these housing units. Either developers or the city needs to plan routes for a certain area with low income families, or they need to build affordable housing units near transit.
• Bonus density and more linkage fees could be used for all new areas being developed. These ideas are rarely ever mentioned, but can be beneficial for both developers and buyers. Bonus density is "The voluntary incentive allows developers to build additional units or pay into an affordable housing fund if they make some units affordable to people making a percentage of the area's median income." Linkage fees are "fees that developers pay, similar to impact fees, to offset the development's impact on affordable housing." More implementation of these solutions that work for other cities can be used by Calgary to ease affordable housing. For more information, go to Affordable housing solutions: What is being considered?

Environment

Have more suggestions than the ones below? Send them to me at crazy.jz@gmail.com. Thanks!

Pesticides/Herbicides

There are better alternatives than spraying all parks with chemicals that endanger the health of humans and animals. It is ironic that the use of pesticides and herbicides are probably hurting us in the long run rather than its intended short term weed and insect control.

Solutions:
• The City needs to start obeying its own bylaws and cut its grass. This eliminates breeding areas for insects and reduces the possilibities of dangerous insects latching onto park users.
• Simple signs and warnings to tell user that the are using the park at their own risk, which may include allergies and high-risk diseases, like West Nile for example. Less liability and regulation means less pressure on people.
• Simple pilot programs to hand out free insect repellent for park users. We do not need to spray an entire park if only certain people are using the parks in general areas.

Greenhouse Gases

With the increase concerns over greenhouse gases and putting away debate over whether it is a fact or not, let's start protecting our environment regardless with simple actions that do not require huge monetary or time committments.

Solutions:
• Similar to incentives for compost bins offered by the City, similar incentives can be offered for buying manual lawn mowers, which cuts down costs on gasoline powered lawn mowers and the pollution it causes. It is also great for exercise.
• A move to ban incandescent light bulbs and use compact fluorescent lamps in all households. The city needs to move towards the trend of using CFLs in all public properties.
• Council needs to move faster with incorporating organic waste into its curbside recycling program. If it does not, current centralized recycling areas should be turned into specific organic waste recycling areas or at least have one bin especially for organic waste. The system would require citizens separating organic and inorganic wastes.
• All city vehicles should be converted into greener, hybrid cars. The initial cost of hybrid vehicles will be expensive, but the long term economic and environmental effects will be beneficial. Less money spent on gasoline and less impact on our environment.

Trash

Trash is inevitable in our daily lives, but the government can take action by giving up some (not all) profit in order to help regulate and control trash. With the city increasing, landfill areas should kept to a minimum. How? By introducing organic waste recycling and a broader curbside recycling program as soon as possible. Calgarians are paying a fee for these programs, so we need to maximize the use of this income.

Solutions:
• Trash should not be limited, but definite incentives should be provided for those who do only dispose 2 bags every week. This includes reduced charges on fees applicable to the curbside recycling program for 2009.
• Fees to increase for disposal of garbage at landfills. This should be reviewed to see its impact and to see if it would result in a positive change. Note that this idea is up for debate and should not be seen as a negative thing, but something the City needs to consider.
• The City needs to address the safety of its employees who work with garbage every week. Employees should be given the mandatory right with no strings attached or punishment for refusing garbage that endangers their lives. Without these people, the City would not be as great as it claims to be.
• Increase fines for inappropriate disposal of trash.

Voter Apathy

We live in a time where democracy is taken for granted when so many other countries only wish they would have some of the essential freedoms and rights that our country allows, such as voting. Calgary reached an all time low of 19% voter turnout in 2004, which needs to be fixed. Calgarians need to start voting, or else there is no point in complaining.

Solutions:
• Nominations will always be a maximum of 5 signatures and no deposits. This encourages more people to enter the election and a decrease in the number of acclamations.
• Nomination time be extended from 9am to 12pm, to 8am to 12pm, and should be open for up to two full days. Any mistakes made on nomination forms will then allow potential candidates the time needed to fix them.
• Voting should be extended to 2 days. The third Monday AND Tuesday of October be designated for voting. No media are allowed to report on numbers until polls close Tuesday night.
• Incentive voting: no significant governments have ever tested incentive voting, and Calgary should be the first. A small monetary reward of about 2 dollars be given for each vote a person submits. This is worth the cost of democracy, and only applies to a budget every 3 years. Some question the ethics, but there are no ethics when a lack of people vote as well, which probably leads to more complaints and problems during non-election times.
• None of the above: If incentive voting proves too expensive, a "none of the above" be put into place in order to encourage people to vote, and to accurately show if a candidate wins a mandate. This is an idea that the city can explore because an idea is better than no idea and sitting back as voter turnout plummets.
• Pilot programs to start E-voting in controlled groups and environments.
• Limits on when campaigning can start.
• Lower voting age to 16. If people can drive cars at the age of 16, they can also vote.

Taxation and Finance

It's simple and Jeremy Zhao is the first to announce this: no tax increases. Calgary's tax rates are generally low and have a good solid trend of lowering slightly every year. Except for one thing: rates go down, but our taxes continue to climb. We need to address the biggest concern of why we deal with politics: money and taxation. No more increases on property taxes, and lower business taxes. This is the best way to increase standard of living in Calgary, as well as allowing businesses to prosper in Calgary.

Solutions:
• Municipal property tax is Assessment X 0.0028841 + Assessment X 0.0025773 for 2007. The property tax rate will continue to go down, so only the assessments are going up and causing small tax increases. We need to freeze both the rate and assessments for 2008 and 2009. As Calgary's growth starts to slow down, this is completely feasible and beneficial for everyone.
• Total property tax rate is currently at 0.0054614 and can stay this way. The city can take be given a bigger share of the revenue in order to increase funds for the city. The province is in a position where it can give more to the city in terms of revenue for taxes.
• Business tax rates is currently at 7.81% for 2007. This tax rate needs to be lowered in order to encourage more business in the city. More businesses mean more shops and places where people can enjoy themselves and have fun. When people can spend more money, businesses and the economy both prosper. The labour shortage is one more reason why we need to lower taxes and help the small businesses as they are being hurt by not having enough employees. Small local businesses are vital to the city of Calgary as it contributes to the local economy, and as well, it will also bring out a Calgary-tailored culture.
• More gasoline tax transfers from the federal government, and oil and gas royalties to be invested into municipal infrastructure from the provincial government.
• No more debt increases in the city's budget, which was $1.722 billion in 2006. A small portion of the tax money should be devoted to reducing Calgary¡¦s debt.
• Tax increment financing should be considered for the pressing demand of arenas in the city if there are no other sources of finance.
• Lower or stop the current property tax hike of 4 percent. An average Calgarian pays $10.02 a year for each percent tax increase.
• $1.1 million was spent on requiring voters to bring photo ID for the next municipal election. This needs to be removed in order to
  a) save money
  b) encourage voting
• $2 million should be included in the next budget to renovate the Pumphouse Theatre. Calgary needs to focus on its arts and entertainment in order to bring Calgarians better quality of life.
• For 2007, the ward budget was $126,119, which should be lowered back down to $120,000 for force all aldermen to spend wisely and frugally.
• Business expenses cannot exceed $10,000 per annum and travel expenses cannot exceed $12,000 per annum. These should both be lowered by $2000 in order to force aldermen accountable to taxpayers and to force them to find cheapest ways to travel.
• No money should be used for university/college courses by city officials, including the ward budget. Alderman Craig Burrows used $12,000 of taxpayers' money on a university course, while students are struggling to pay for their own tuition. This needs to be stopped and controlled by those who do not want to pay for politicians¡¦ expenses.
• Revenue-neutral approach should be considered with the province of Alberta. This will lower provincial income taxes while the municipalities' taxes go up. More of the money goes towards the cities, and the majority of the issues that affect locals will be solved. Most of the problems that affect citizens are at the municipal level, such as roads, transit, and recreation. These are all immediate issues that need to be addressed.

  Another approach would be just to allow provinces to give more money to municipalities without changing the current taxation system. This ¡§saturation¡¨ of money with no string attached will result in the exact same scenario as a revenue-neutral approach.

  Both of the mentioned ideas will solve problems that are immediate and affect citizens daily. Once this is completed, there are fewer complaints in terms of management and funding towards the provincial and federal level. When the immediate needs are met, there will be less of a burden for provincial and federal governments.

• Ask council to look into tax brackets for property taxes:

  1. Low income families will be paying less than the current property tax rate of 0.005461. This will be approximately 10-15% lower than what they currently pay.

  2. Middle class families will be paying the current property tax rate of 0.0054614.

  3. High income families will be paying a little more than the current property tax of 0.0054614. Calgary boasts one of the lowest property taxes in the country, so the rate these families pay will only slightly go up.

  This tax bracket ensures that current funds are not decreased or increased, and that those who are at a disadvantage will get some sort of break.

  This will be an idea that will take a couple of years to develop and put into place, not something overnight. Jeremy Zhao hopes people are vocal and discuss about this idea.

Accoutability and Reform

We need responsible and honest government, and the first steps to that is changing the election bylaws and working with the provincial government to update the Local Authorities Elections Act.

Solutions
• Spending limits: A limit of $100,000 be in place for all candidates for all races in order to eliminate major gaps between candidates and incumbents. A 'per voter' monetary limit could also be introduced as well.
• All donations need to be revealed regardless of the amount.
• All election campaign donations left over after the election must be given to the city. That money will be used for local charities or some other need that needs to be addressed.
• Limiting fundraisers
• No money can be carried over to the next election, and no money from previous campaigns can be carried over.
• Donations can only be raised after the nomination period ends. This will give all contenders an equal chance, and will not allow incumbents to start planning 3 years in advance.
• Donations limits of $1000 need to be in place in order to disallow any particular interest group from influencing any candidate.
• Banning any endorsements by any interest group for any candidate.
• A study should look into whether or not the ward system is the best approach in addressing Calgary's needs. Aldermen should take into account the interests of the wards and the city as a whole, but it is not always the case.