Kerry-Lee Schultheis for town council

10/19/2021

Well that was fun! Congratulations to the three incumbents and the three newly elected councillors. I wish you all the best as you navigate the next four years.

10/17/2021

Question #1
The current ratio of taxation between non-residential and residential is 6.36:1 with businesses paying 79% or 15.3 million and residents paying 21% or 4 million. At a 5:1 ratio this would create a shortfall of $900,000 decrease in revenue from the business sector and a $900,000 increase to the residential sector.
The mill rate is based on the properties assessment which is pretty straightforward for residence but commercial property assessments are based on the businesses last three years of revenues.
All Banff non-residential property assessments have decreased over the Covid period. This added to putting in place the new proposed mill rate of 5:1, will create and even greater revenue shortfall to the town.
Residential taxes have increased significantly over the past number of years due to the increase in actual property value and coupled with a general increase in taxes imposed by the town. Personally this has resulted in just under a 400% increase in my taxes over the last 20 years. Yes the value of your house is going up but the gains are only realized once you sell your home.
The 5:1 ratio is proposed to be phased in over a five-year period. However with rising costs and decreasing revenues, the next town Council will have to take a serious look at the $47 million budget and pair down spending significantly or look at other revenue sources.
Question #2
I think that council-members are elected to represent the whole community equally. They are there to balance the needs of business and community in all of their policies and decision making. This is what representative government is all about.
I think that we have a very transparent process in place now that offers community members and business leaders many opportunities for input.
We have a budget tracker in place so council can see in real time how new or existing initiatives will impact the budget.
I would suggest that all community members and business leaders, that have an interest in having input to the budget, present their ideas to council during the open budget process that happens every December.

10/14/2021

If you don’t know me here is a little of what I have to bring to the council table

My name is Kerry-Lee Schultheis and if elected I would be proud to be your representative on the Banff town Council. I have lived in Banff for 37 years and have seen many changes over that time.
What I am hearing on the campaign trail is that the community is feeling disenfranchised and the business sector is struggling to keep their heads above water from the financial devastation from Covid.
I am experienced in balancing community and business. This will help as we navigate our way through addressing community priorities and recovering from the economic impact of the past couple of years.
On the business end of my experience I have owned and managed a hotel in the Rockies, operated a hotel/ hostil in Banff. I was a member of the Municipal planning commission for several years, was the first female president of the Banff rotary club and sat on the first housing committee of the town of Banff.
I was the CEO of the Banff YWCA for 26 years.
From this experience I developed a strong background in financial management, taking that organization from a fledgling organization to a solvent one.
On the community side, I have 35
years developing the skill to assess community need and follow through to providing programs to meet those needs.
A few examples of these are; Providing the first shelter in the Bow Valley for women and children fleeing violence, bringing addiction services to the valley after a 10 year hiatus, working with mental health to provide after hours psychiatric care to the hospitals, built and managed housing for service industry workers and many many more programs.
The next town Council will need the skill set to build back business and navigate the needs of our community. My experience has provided me with proven skills in, leadership and board governance, community development, financial management, strategic and business planning and, a clear understanding of the balance needed.
These skills are what is needed and what I will bring to the next council table. I’m asking for your vote on October 18th. Thank you

10/14/2021

Why me for council

Hello my name is Kerry-Lee Schultheis and if elected I would be proud to be your representative on the Banff town Council. I have lived in Banff for 37 years and have seen many changes over that time.
What I am hearing on the campaign trail is that the community is feeling disenfranchised and the business sector is struggling to keep their heads above water from the financial devastation from Covid.
I am experienced in balancing community and business. This will help as we navigate our way through addressing community priorities and recovering from the economic impact of the past couple of years.
On the business end of my experience I have owned and managed a hotel in the Rockies, operated a hotel/ hostil in Banff. I was a member of the Municipal planning commission for several years, was the first female president of the Banff rotary club and sat on the first housing committee of the town of Banff.
I was the CEO of the Banff YWCA for 26 years.
From this experience I developed a strong background in financial management, taking that organization from a fledgling organization to a solvent one.
On the community side, I have 35
years developing the skill to assess community need and follow through to providing programs to meet those needs.
A few examples of these are; Providing the first shelter in the Bow Valley for women and children fleeing violence, bringing addiction services to the valley after a 10 year hiatus, working with mental health to provide after hours psychiatric care to the hospitals, built and managed housing for service industry workers and many many more programs.
The next town Council will need the skill set to build back business and navigate the needs of our community. My experience has provided me with proven skills in, leadership and board governance, community development, financial management, strategic and business planning and, a clear understanding of the balance needed.
These skills are what is needed and what I will bring to the next council table. I’m asking for your vote on October 18th. Thank you

10/14/2021

Election Day is coming up Monday October 18th at the Banff Park Lodge, 10am - 8pm.

If you’re unable to attend you can vote early tomorrow, Thursday October 14th 3pm - 7pm or Friday October 15th 10am - 2pm at town hall.

10/12/2021

I would like to highlight the group Bow Valley climate action.BVCA  is a group of citizens who volunteer to work with the Town of Banff and fellow citizens in order to help the Bow Valley reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Action is an issue that many locals care about. BVCA has more than 175 members on their monthly newsletter list and 20 active volunteers.

As candidates we were asked a series of questions which I’d like to share with you.
1. If elected what would be your top priority.
A. If elected my first priority would be dealing with the financial implications i.e. massive revenue shortfall, from COVID.

2. The Town of Banff's Environmental Master Plan outlines a target to reduce community-wide Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, and 80% by 2050. Would you be willing to set a GHG emissions target for your upcoming four-year council term and implement a plan to achieve this target?
A. I will ensure that we follow the environmental master plan set out by the current council.

3. What do you see as the top contributors to GHG emissions in Banff? Do you have suggestions for how to reduce these emissions?
A. The top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are energy consumption and compostables that end up in the landfill.
To help reduce these Emissions, we need to use alternative energy sources like solar or wind.
The town of Banff needs to change over its fleet of vehicles to electric. Also, we need many more composting bins to make it easier for community members and visitors to do the right thing.

4. If elected, what will you do to motivate citizens and businesses to work towards meeting our GHG targets?
A. The town of Banff environmental master plan has addressed all areas of the environment. This extensive plan addresses everything including from renewable energy transition, recycling and garbage, reducing water and energy consumption to appropriate landscaping.
I think that community members and businesses are unaware of how extensive this plan is and the financial incentives that are provided by the town. I think that the town of Banff needs to develop a clear communication plan, to let the community and businesses know what is available to them ie solar panels, low flow shower heads and low flow toilet grants. I think we need to listen to the experts and look to other municipalities around the world that have been successful in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions i.e.In some areas of Australia they are using 90% solar energy.

5. In your personal/ professional life, what have you done to advance environmental action?
A. In my personal/professional life I have done the following: under my leadership as the CEO of the YWCA, we changed over all of the toilets and showerheads to low flow, installed new windows, recycled and composted to reduce our garbage. In my personal life I am an avid recycler and composter. I ride my bike or walk all around town. I have started to change over the windows in my property, as finances allow, to energy-efficient windows. I am looking at installing Solar panels to reduce my energy consumption. I will also continue to donate to and use the circular economy that exists in Banff. The reuse it centre and now the newly formed lending library are just two examples.

10/11/2021

Vote on October 18th Kerry-lee for council

10/05/2021

During my time on the campaign trail I have heard over and over from residents, on the south side of the bridge, about their frustration trying to cross the bridge during the peak season.
The bridge used to have four lanes back in the day. When they took the bridge apart a number of years ago they took out one of the lanes and widen the sidewalks.
Since that time, the town has built the pedestrian bridge and will be building another pedestrian bridge to cross the river. Therefore, I think we can take out one of the sidewalks and put back into place the fourth Lane.
This would, in my opinion, greatly enhance the traffic flow from the south side of town.
Simple solution!

10/05/2021

Sophie also enjoyed the walk

10/05/2021

Thank you to Jeffrey Carpenter for organizing the pride walk. And thank you for the invite to walk

10/03/2021

09/30/2021

Why run for council,
The primary reasons for running for town Council, is that I want to have a positive impact on making Banff feel like a community again. I want to have an impact on addressing Banffs housing situation and to address the issue of over tourism.
I am running for council because I have the right balance of skills and experience that is needed on council at this time. I have owned and was managing partner of a hotel in the Rockies I built and managed housing in Banff. Was instrumental in bringing addiction services, after hours psychiatric care to the hospitals and programs and services for women fleeing violence, to the Banff community. I also addressed many other community needs during my years as CEO of the Banff YWCA.

This experience has provided me with skills in leadership, financial management, strategic planning, and an unique insight into the balance needed between business and community.