Dissoution of Beiseker as a Municipality?

There has been some chatter around that our village should dissolve and become another part of Rocky View County. I personally think this would be a very bad idea!

Here are my reasons for keeping our village as an independent municipality.

• As part of the County, we would be represented in municipal government on the County Council. We would have one councilor to voice our support or concerns on matters associated with the village. Instead of five councilors representing the 800 of us, we would have just one representing this whole corner of the County. That one councilor could easily be outvoted by councilors for the West side of the County. In other words, the future of our village would be dictated by councilors from Springbank and the Cochrane area!
• Both municipalities would have to agree to the amalgamation. I am not sure that the County would want another urban area in their jurisdiction.
• If such an amalgamation should occur, the County was most certainly not want to carry any debt load created by the village. I would imagine that this debt load would be simply assigned back to the former municipality. I suspect property taxes would go up considerably.
• I'm not sure that the folks living in urban areas within the county right now are really truly happy with their situation. Areas like Langdon, Bearspaw, Redwood Meadows, and others are in my opinion underrepresented in municipal government. I have no problems with a rural county overseeing industrial and commercial subdivisions, however I do believe that urban residential areas are better served by a local municipal government.

Unlike many provincial  politicians, I believe that the small municipalities are a very important part of Alberta's structure. It was small communities that built this province long before megacities were even considered!

I know that many of these small communities have disappeared. Those that still exist have an important part in the fabric of Alberta. Congestion at all levels in the cities is getting unbearable! Smaller centers have an eager and talented workforce, land available for development, and far less traffic congestion. If the cities are the heart of this province then the small municipalities are indeed the other organs that keep this province alive!

If such a movement to dissolve our village as a municipality ever shows its ugly head, I will use every legal means at my disposal to fight that very shortsighted idea! 

Our New Councilor and Legislative Shenanigans

Congratulations to Nikki King who yesterday was elected as Beiseker's new councilor until the end of the term in October of 2017.

I'm looking forward to having her sworn in at our Spring Town Hall Meeting this coming Monday, and having her join us on council!  Try to be at the Town Hall Meeting next week to watch this historical swearing in.

In other news; shenanigans in Alberta's Legislature yesterday caught my attention.  Alberta PC interim leader Ric McIver was tossed out of the session by the Speaker of the House. 

I don't fully understand what happened, but I believe Mr. McIver was standing on a point of order about an unfriendly amendment to a private members bill.   I understand he insinuated that the government had already accepted the amendment without any discussion or vote in the House. 

He refused to sit down when asked to do so by the Speaker.  When he refused a second time, he was escorted out of the House by the Sergeant At Arms. 

Although somewhat unorthodox, getting tossed out of the Legislature is one way of having your opposition heard and recorded.  I was impressed with MLA McIver's move.  This shows me that the members of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition are doing their job!

Volunteers Wanted + Upcoming By-Election!

The Village of Beiseker is currently looking for volunteers to join its many committees and boards.  If you're interested in helping out around the village leave your name at the Village Office - either in person, or by calling 403-947-3774 - and we'll try to find the perfect spot for you. 

And, if you're keen about village government we have a vacancy on Village Council.  Nomination Day is set for March 21st; you can get your nomination papers at the Village Office.  Election Day is April 18th!

The next municipal election is slated for fall of 2017.  This would be an ideal time for someone to get an idea how our municipal government works, without committing to four years!

A small municipality like ours is only as strong as its volunteer force!

Party Politics at the Municipal Level

Team Airdrie United, photo courtesy Airdrie Echo

A couple of communities around the province came face to face with partisan style politics during the recent municipal election: a group of candidates, all with like ideas, who run together.  If elected they would push their own agenda and vote as a bloc.

I truly believe that this would be detrimental to municipal governments as we know them.

Municipal politicians must represent their constituents; those who elected them.  Voting on an issue simply to support fellow Councillors elected on the same slate, does not wash!  In my opinion, each municipal Councillor must vote on every issue based on his (or her) convictions.  Those convictions should be formed only after regular consultation with their electors!

Calgary's Mayor Naheed Nenshi was one of the municipal politicians to come face to face with this type of partisan politics.  He came out strongly against the practice!  I totally agree with his stand.

One of the things that makes Alberta strong is its municipal governments and their ability to represent as many of their constituents as they possibly can.  We must never lose that.

Alberta's Upcoming Provincial Budget

Premier Redford's Address to Albertans, last week, and finance minister Doug Horner's comments about the upcoming budget have got me worried!

Both ministers tell us that there will be no tax increases, even though provincial revenues have seriously declined. They're telling Albertans that the budget will be balanced by spending cuts and "wiser spending," to accommodate the $6 billion resource revenue shortfall.

Small municipalities like ours rely on provincial grants and programs for improvements and upkeep in the village. Streets improvements, tourist facilities, and a myriad of other programs are paid for by provincial grants, at least in part.

I worry that some of these grants will be severely reduced or cut completely, as Premier Redford and Minister Horner sharpen their pencils!

If that happens, we have two choices;

• Reduce or eliminate the project or program.
• Increase municipal taxes to replace the lost funding.

Neither of these options appeal to me!

In my experience working in municipal government, I have realized that Albertans do not want severe property tax increases, even though our property taxes here in this province are lower than most others.

Bottom line is that I cannot support a significant property tax increase! If the province does severely reduce or cut grants to municipalities, we will have to do some real belt-tightening here!  Will the province download their financial shortcomings to the small municipalities?

I hope that I'm worrying for nothing!

Good Bye Peter, You Are Already Missed

Former Premier Peter Lougheed passed away earlier this afternoon. 

Premier Lougheed was recently named the most successful Canadian premier over the past four decades!  Our Heritage Savings Trust Fund, contributions to Federal constitutional reforms, and strong municipal governments in Alberta are all a part of his legacy.  And his battles over resource revenues with Pierre Trudeau were legendary, too! 

He is being referred to as Mr. Alberta, a title he most certainly would be proud of.

Peter Lougheed was the one person who inspired me most to enter politics -- and I met him not long after I was first elected to village council back in 1979.  He was one of the first who explained to me that municipal politics is "where it's at"!  He asked me where else in politics do you make decisions affecting friends and neighbours who you may meet on the street a few minutes after making those decisions?  Others have since mentioned that but I've always remembered that conversation throughout these years.

Thank you, Peter Lougheed.

My sincere condolences go to Peter Lougheed's family and many, many friends.

A Slippery Slope!

I have been hearing about some very disturbing trends in municipal governments around the province.  More and more municipal governments are instituting restrictive “codes of conduct” or "communications policies" for their elected officials!  Elected officials in areas where these codes exist are no longer able to exercise their right of free speech by voicing a concern about something their fellow councillors have decided to do!

These policies stipulate that once the motion is passed (or defeated) in the meeting, all debate must cease.  The reasoning is that opponents had their chances to voice their opposing views during the meeting.  Elected officials in opposition will not be able to voice their concerns about the decision made without possible “punishment” from their council.  In my opinion, this is a very dangerous direction for municipal governments to go!

It is true that once the decision is made democratically, all councillors must uphold that decision and employees of the municipality must carry out the wishes of council.  That is part of the Municipal Governance Act (MGA) and it is one of the cornerstones of our democratic process.

But verbal opposition from the elected officials to that decision must not be muffled!   It is important that electors understand why their elected official opposed the decision made.  That may not have been made clear in the minutes of the meeting and not every elector can attend every council meeting in person.   

Supporters of these “gag orders” say that their codes of conduct are designed to eliminate false or erroneous information being spread by the rumour mills through Facebook, blogs, Twitter, forums and other parts of this huge world called social media.  I say that false information which can be easily rebutted and/or clarified is better that no information at all, save a sanitized announcement from the municipal office!

In the Trenches

At the opening session of last year's Alberta Urban Municipalities Association convention, Calgary's Mayor, Naheed Nenshi, spoke to all of us gathered there.  He mentioned that the top level of government is the municipal level! 

I tend to agree with that.  Provincial MLAs spend their time pontificating up in Edmonton while federal MPs are billeted half a continent away in Ottawa.  Municipal councillors live and work in their communities!  They put less reliance on public opinion polls and more on opinions expressed by their neighbours this morning, face to face, at the coffee shop!  Municipal politicians are in the trenches with the people who elected them. 

What could be a higher level of government?