CREMONA – A Municipal Affairs viability review might be on the horizon for the Village of Cremona following three recent resignations including the mayor that for the second time in less than a year has left council without quorum.
With less than eight months left before the 2025 general municipal election, it is unclear whether there will be a byelection to fill the vacant seats. An official administrator assigned by Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver has been in place since last fall and has all the duties and powers of council to continue operations.
Although the Albertan's interview request to speak with McIver on the evolving situation could not be accommodated, a statement was provided by the ministry’s press secretary.
“Given the proximity to the 2025 general municipal election and the extraordinary second loss of quorum in a short timeframe, the minister may consider other options, such as a viability review,” Kevin Lee told the Albertan by email in response to follow-up questions.
“The loss of quorum marks the second time in the village in less than six months. This situation is deeply disappointing,” said Lee.
According to Municipal Affairs, a viability review is a process that helps municipalities determine their ability to continue as a municipality or develop a plan that leads to viability. These reviews support communities to plan for long-term success.
It wouldn't be the first time the municipality underwent the process.
Cremona residents petitioned in February of 2012 asking for a review to determine whether the village should be run by the then-three-member council or dissolved to become a part of Mountain View County.
That fall, Municipal Affairs began a viability review of Cremona, which was the first community to take part in the province’s new Municipal Sustainability Strategy. The initial review released in early 2013 found that the village was viable.
Doug Lagore, of Transitional Solutions Inc., had been appointed official administrator of the village in 2024 following a previous round of resignations to provide continuity of core municipal governance.
But even after the byelection in November, McIver later decided Lagore’s appointment would remain in effect at least until Oct. 31, 205 with the possibility of being extended even further.
“The decision to appoint an official administrator was based on concerns arising from discussions with the council and chief administrative officer, reports from the official administrator/consultant, and the elector petition received in November 2024 requesting intervention into the village,” reads part of Lee’s statement.
“The minister had committed that senior Municipal Affairs officials would meet with the council and answer any questions they might have had about the appointment and role of the official administrator,” he said.
“The elected council would have continued making decisions, and the appointed OA would have only intervened if serious concerns of irregular or improper governance arose,” he said, adding Lagore brought extensive professional experience in the municipal sector as a consultant and chief administrative officer and could have offered advice and support.
“However, once letters of resignation are tendered to the chief administrative officer, the decision is final and cannot be reversed.”
In a co-signed resignation letter dated March 3, former mayor and councillors Robert Reid, Autumn Schmidt, and Eric Martin cited Lagore’s extended appointment as their primary reason to step down as they felt council had been rendered “ineffective and unable to carry out its electoral duties.”
Their letter went onto state, “We feel our votes and our voices are powerless and ineffective despite being duly elected officials.”
In a letter addressed to mayor and council that was dated Feb. 26, McIver said Lagore would “review council meeting minutes and bylaws or resolutions passed and has the authority … to disallow any council resolutions or bylaws within 30 days of the passing of the resolution or bylaw.”
The minister also said that no bylaw or resolution that authorized the municipality to incur a liability or to dispose of its money or property would have any effect until being approved in writing by the official administrator.
“Therefore, I encourage administration and council to refrain from taking action on any relevant bylaw or resolution until such time as the OA has provided their approval.”
The minister explained taking such action as the result of being “deeply troubled by the signs of significant dysfunction” including issues that had been shared with him during a meeting with council in late January as well as reports he had received from Lagore both during his role as OA and more recently as an advisory consultant, and “the demonstration of broad public concern through the 2024 petition from residents that requested cancellation of the byelection.”
