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Mayor’s Message
On behalf of Council, it is my privilege to
present to you, the City of Chilliwack’s 2011
Annual Report.
2011 was another fantastic year to live, work and play in Chilli-
wack and this report offers a great opportunity to look back at
our accomplishments. The City’s successes would not have
been possible without the dedication and commitment of many
people: my Council colleagues, members of our advisory com-
mittees, volunteers, residents and our City staff. Please accept
my sincerest gratitude for all you do to ensure Chilliwack is a
great city to call home.
There were many accomplishments in 2011. To name just a few:
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Adopted a new Industrial Revitalization Tax Exemption to grow our industrial base and stimulate local
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economy
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Worked with our community partners to establish Health Contact Centre
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Rolled out a new City logo and joined the online community with Facebook and Twitter accounts
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Completed sanitary sewer service upgrades to 442 properties in the Tyson-Stevenson area
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Engaged over 7,400 community members in fire and life safety programs through almost 231 Fire department
events
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RCMP reported a 19% reduction in residential break and enters and 11% reduction in auto thefts
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Introduced a Street Entertainment program
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Opened the new Cheam Spray Park and completed Rotary Trail addition
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Continued with greening improvements along the Yale Road corridor
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Tourism Chilliwack launched Handpicked in the Valley, an award winning marketing campaign, in partnership with
Tourism Langley and Tourism Abbotsford
The City was able to fund all of its projects and commitments without the use of borrowing and with a tax increase
below our neighbours. More importantly, we accomplished this with the lowest business taxation level of the nineteen
Lower Mainland communities surveyed, along with the second lowest residential taxation level.
In November’s Municipal Election, we were honoured to welcome two new members onto Council, Councillors Jason
Lum and Ken Popove. We were also pleased to welcome back Councillors, Sue Attrill, Ken Huttema, Stuart MacLean
and Chuck Stam. It is a great privilege to represent the City of Chilliwack and to work with these hardworking and
dedicated individuals.
I encourage you to read through our Annual Report to learn about our many community accomplishments over the last
year. For me and all those who have contributed to our community, the Annual Report represents the goals we have
achieved, promises fulfilled and our objectives for the future.
Happy reading!
Mayor Sharon Gaetz
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