Here’s what services will be affected during the strike by Edmonton library and city workers

Thousands of city workers in Edmonton are expected to strike starting Thursday morning.

More than 5,000 City of Edmonton employees and about 680 Edmonton Public Library staffers, all represented by Civic Service Union 52, are expected to hit the picket line at 11 a.m. MT.

Some city services will be affected. The full extent is not yet known, but these are the details the City of Edmonton has posted on its website so far.

Municipal government

• City council and committee meetings will go ahead for items identified as critical for operations.
• Public hearings will continue.
• Requests for city council proclamations and certificates will be processed after the strike.
• Meetings for the city’s Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, as well as its Community Standards and Licence Appeal Board, are postponed.
• Freedom of information requests will be processed after the strike.

311 and customer service

• 311 phone service will be limited to urgent public safety and bylaw matters, such as downed trees. Some 311 app services have been removed.
• The Edmonton Tower Service Centre, located on the second floor of the city’s administrative building downtown, and the Citizen and New Arrivals Information Centre in city hall will be closed.

Recreation, sport and leisure centres

• Health and wellness operators will keep working, but front desk staff, refunds and cancellations will not be available.
• Pre-arranged rentals and bookings (such as arena bookings), registered swimming lessons and aquatic and safety certification programs will continue.
• Arenas will not process any new rentals or bookings.
• Drop-ins, such as free swims, will end.

Edmonton Public Library

• Branches will close indefinitely, cancelling programs, classes, events and services. EPL will refund fees for library room bookings affected.
• People will still be able to access the EPL’s digital resources, browse its website and view its online catalogue.
• The due dates for any materials currently out on loan will be extended. No late fees will be charged.
• Library holds will be made available once the EPL reopens.
• The Second Cup café in the Stanley A. Milner Library downtown will still be open, accessible through the west side of the building.

Ride Transit Program

• The city’s Ride Transit Program — which aims to make transit services more affordable for certain people — will not be accepting new applications.
• Auto-debit transactions for April program passes were being processed the week of March 10. People currently subscribed to auto-debit will receive their April passes, but that function will be unavailable in future months.
• Program participants with conditional eligibility, or whose eligibility term is expiring, will have their eligibility extended through the end of the strike.
• Passes can still be bought through the ETS online store, or by contacting 780-423-7433.

Permits, licences, inspections and applications

• No telephone, email or service centre support will be available for any permits, licences, inspections and applications.
• Limited services for prioritized development permit applications, such as affordable housing, will carry forward, as will automated permit services for home improvement services.
• Personal business licenses, and some business permit intake, will carry forward at a “limited rate.”
• Public hearings for land development applications will continue. But subdivisions and endorsements, servicing agreements and assessment calculations, and engineering drawing review service will be limited.
• Electrical permits are unaffected, but inspections will be conducted at a quarter of typical capacity.
• The city is reviewing whether the annual vehicle for hire update will be impacted. It will update as needed.

Property tax and assessments

• Inquiries about assessment notices won’t be responded to. People can access information for their property through MyProperty Edmonton by using the access code found on their notice.
• New requests for the property tax monthly payment plan will not be processed.
• Property assessment appeals will continue. The deadline for an appeal is March 25.

Animal Care and Control Centre

• Animal services will generally be closed to the public, but people can call 311 to request that an injured or medically distressed animal be picked up.
• People with sick, injured or distressed animals can bring them to the Guardian Veterinary Centre or Vet ER after-hours.
• Pet owners whose animals are at the Animal Care and Control Centre are asked to arrange to reclaim their pet.
• Anyone who finds a healthy animal that appears lost is asked to care for it until they can reunite it with its owner themselves, or services resume and an intake appointment can be scheduled. The city suggests people use social media or the city’s lost-and-found website to find pet owners. If the animal is wearing a City of Edmonton pet licence tag, people can email the centre’s support team for owner information.
• In-person pet licensing is suspended indefinitely, but licences can still be purchased online or by mail.
• Pet licences can be renewed through one’s financial institution.

Parks, attractions, arts and heritage facilities

• All municipal-owned attractions, such as city hall and the Edmonton Valley Zoo, will be closed to the public unless there was a pre-arranged booking or rental.
• No customer service staff will be working at these places.

Cemeteries

• Beechmount Cemetery, in the Westwood area, will be open to the public and provide burial services for people with existing arrangements.
• All other services will be suspended.

Jobs and Recruitment

• Job recruiting will be limited.
• There could be impacts to active recruitment or upcoming recruitment.

Legal claims

• Legal claims will continue to be accepted through the city’s regular processes, but they will be responded to on a priority basis. There could be delays in processing claims and responding to inquiries.

Vendor invoicing and payments

• The city will work to avoid delaying payments and suggests businesses keep submitting invoices through the appropriate program as normal.

Core services to continue

Many of the services offered by the city will continue as normal, including: