Praising council’s ability to work together as one of their main strengths, even if they don't always share the same point of view, Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey gave his State of the City Address over the lunch hour on Wednesday at the Lacombe Memorial Centre.

Creasey says these first few months post-election have been all about getting the current council on the same page in regards to their goals.

“We do have a unified council, not that they all think the same or think alike, which is great, but are unified in the way we want to do business. The what we will do for business will come in time, certainly over our strategic planning later on, I believe that’s in mid-March, but it’s the how we do business that has to be right before we move forward.”

Creasey also spoke about some of the things he is excited to work on, including the west area development, and items his council has already passed, such as the 2018 budget with a property tax increase of only 1.3%, one of the smallest increases for a community of our size in Alberta.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that most everyone wants reasonable or no tax increases. It should also be noted that very few are willing to accept decrease levels in service. As I said, to maintain those high levels we have, and keep those increase as low as we did, is a feat we should be proud of.”

Lacombe Chamber of Commerce President Daryl Borchuk also gave a speech highlighting such 2017 community initiatives such as Passport to Christmas, which generated more than $2.5 million for 66 businesses in Lacombe and Bentley.

One of the things that Creasey said council is starting to look at in the future, is the upcoming legalization of marijuana and how that will be rolled out in Lacombe.  

To check out Mayor Creasey’s entire speech, you can click here to go to the City of Lacombe’s Facebook page.