Next steps being considered for Downtown Task Force

Changes may be coming to the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force (DLRTF), some of which could provide quicker action to move forward on proposed ideas.

Members of the DLRTF made a presentation to the Governance Standing Policy Committee on October 24. Following SPC discussion, a series of recommendations were crafted and will be sent to City Council to consider. They include:

• Approve the DLRTF Summary and Recommendations document as a guide in principle and resource to inform future updates of a Downtown Clean and Safe Strategy (DCSS)
• Refer this matter to Administration to develop an administrative committee and consider updates to its Terms of Reference
• Disband the DLRTF – after the Administrative Committee is struck. Current members will have the option to join the updated committee
• Refer the funding request for a two-year term Community Safety Coordinator position, to expedite any future work on the DCSS, to the November 13 Operating Budget Review Deliberations

These recommendations will come to City Council on November 12 for potential approval.

“These proposed changes are another step in the right direction,” says Hunter Heggie, Chair of DLRTF. “We are pleased that our recommendations are being heard and will be considered by City Council and City Administration. Our Task Force members, as well as the Downtown BRZ and Downtown business owners, are in favour of finding a format that best advances clean and safe strategies for our Downtown.”

“If this is approved by Council, the Task Force will become efficient and effective,” says Councillor Belinda Crowson, Chair of the Governance SPC. “As Administration can move much quicker and more nimbly, I think we are going to see great things coming from them. This would just give them a much better avenue to move their work forward.”

If the DLRTF becomes an Administrative Committee rather than a Committee/subcommittee of Council, some of the changes would include:

• Updated Terms of Reference completed/approved by Administration. If there is a need to invite different stakeholders, change the scope, change the membership or meet at different times, this can be done without approval of Council
• A less formal process, thus allowing information needed from the experts to happen more quickly
• No Council members are on an Administrative Committee. However, they can attend
• Administration would report on behalf of the Administrative Committee rather than the appointed public members in the case of the Council Committee

While the next steps are considered, the DLRTF will continue to move forward, with the next meeting set for Thursday, October 31, at 7:30 a.m. inside Council Chamber. The meeting is open to the public and the agenda can be found here.

Efforts to coordinate with the City’s Community Social Development (CSD) department also continue, including with the Encampment Strategy and possible updates to graffiti abatement strategies (to be considered during the November Economic and Finance SPC Operating Budget Review Deliberations). The DLRTF is also highly supportive of the Lethbridge Police Service’s ongoing targeted enforcement projects downtown.

Background

On December 12, 2023, the DLRTF was created by City Council as a sub-committee of the Safety and Social SPC. At that meeting, the Terms of Reference were approved, and two members of Council were appointed to the sub-committee. This sub-committee is advisory in nature and is not assigned a specific budget. 

The Task Force’s purpose is to establish a cross functional team to share knowledge and expertise – while also developing solutions and best practices. It includes delegates from the Downtown BRZ representing the small business, large business, real estate, development and administration sectors, as well as members of Lethbridge City Council, and representatives from the Lethbridge Police Service, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, Community Social Development, Regulatory Services and Communications & Engagement.

The DLRTF has spent the last 11 months identifying the impacts of lawlessness behaviour in the city. Fire safety awareness, graffiti abatement, crime prevention through environmental design, using data collection and outlining roles of various City of Lethbridge departments are among the topics that have been explored to date. A comprehensive news release was issued in May, recapping the first six months of activity.