Airdrie Fair Access reports notable growth
The Airdrie Fair Access (AFA) low-income subsidy program saw tremendous growth last year with an increase of 70 per cent since 2022, equating to 653 households and 1,735 residents.
AFA is designed to help low-income residents access municipal services that enhance quality of life.
Airdrie Transit saw a 128 per cent increase in the number of subsidized passes sold, and Genesis Place saw subsidized membership pass sales increasing by 39 per cent. Subsidized program registrations increased by 164 per cent.
The Bert Church Live Theatre, which was most recently added to the program, saw 17 subsidized ticket sales in the 2023 portion of their 2023-2024 theatrical season, but did not see any subsidized program registrations.
In 2023, the program provided subsidy amounts of $39,366 for Airdrie Transit, around $250,000 for Genesis Place, and $314 for Bert Church Live Theatre
While there was no comment from council at the March 18 council meeting, administration stated it will continue to monitor the growth and usage of the program, as well as consider options for continued enhancements in the future.
City rolls out Building Safer Communities initiatives
The City of Airdrie is using dollars from the Building Safer Communities Fund for two initiatives to foster positive relationships with youth to prevent unsafe or violent behaviour.
In January, Public Safety Canada announced they had awarded the City approximately $1 million as part of the Building Safer Communities Fund in 2022.
Since then, City administration has been working with "bassa Social Innovations" to begin work on two key initiatives.
Those two initiatives include working with administration and community partners to implement an evidence-based approach called Positive Behavioural Intervention and Supports (PBIS); and a wrap-around support initiative for the most vulnerable youth in Airdrie.
Both initiatives will begin in spring 2024 and will be evaluated and adapted to best support community needs and ensure sustainability until the end of the grant term in March 2026.
A community-partner workshop was held on March 19 where 18 youth-serving organizations provided input into the roll-out of the two initiatives, as well as an evening open house for residents to learn more about the two initiatives.
Administration will return to Council with an additional update in Q4 of 2024 with detailed information from the community and partner engagement.
Airdrie’s census coming April 1 to May 16
Airdrie’s census will ask residents to provide the following information:
• The usual number of residents in the household.
• The age and gender of each of the residents in the household.
• Whether the resident rents or owns the dwelling.
Households will also be asked whether or not they have a suite in their home to ensure each household is counted.
Administration stated the information will be used for census data collection only, assuring residents that no action will be taken by City staff as a result of answering yes to this question.
The City expects more people to fill out the census online, and encourages people to do so prior to the door-to-door collection which begins on April 17.
Replying online means household information is received immediately at the census site and census enumerator follow-up is not required. As a result, the City sees savings in the overall cost to administer the census.
The 2024 census year will see the return of a Municipal Census Regulation. This means the provincial government is using the population numbers for grant funding. Municipalities experiencing high population growth, such as the City of Airdrie, may now qualify for additional funding through provincial grants based on population counts
The population of Airdrie as of April 1, 2023, was 80,649 and reflected an increase of 14.29 per cent over the last census in 2019.
