CREMONA – The resignation of the Village of Cremona's mayor and two members of council have left the municipality without quorum, prompting intervention by Municipal Affairs.
“I’ve had two (members of) council and the mayor hand in their resignations,” Karen O’Connor, the village's chief administrative officer, told the Albertan on Monday.
“And so, that is putting us in the position that we do not have quorum,” O’Connor said. The Village of Cremona's council is made up of one mayor and four councillors.
“So then Municipal Affairs will be coming down and be my council until the byelection is over and then go from there.”
But as of the time she spoke with the Albertan, the timeline outlining the next steps had yet to be confirmed.
“I had to ask for the minister (of Municipal Affairs Ric) McIver to acknowledge what’s happening,” she said, adding the situation has been acknowledged by the ministry.
“I’m just waiting on times and dates (outlining the next steps).”
Mayor Tim Hagen, deputy mayor Joe Canaday and Coun. Jody Dick handed in their written resignations earlier this month on Aug. 13 and Aug. 20, she said.
Remaining on council, which is essentially now defunct, were councillors Shane Goebel and Autumn Schmidt.
Sharing his reasons for submitting his resignation, Hagen primarily cited his health as his biggest concern.
“You know, I’ve had two heart attacks while being mayor and the last one was a year and a half ago, approximately,” he told the Albertan on Aug. 26 during a phone interview.
“And the stress of fighting – more arguing than anything – with a small group of people. I’ve just decided it’s not worth it any more,” he said.
“There’s a lot of small towns and villages that are going through this same thing,” he added.
“You get a small group of people that are louder than the people that actually think you’re doing a good job.”
Hagen said he throughout his nearly three terms on council that would have spanned 11 years this October, welcomed differences of opinions.
“I don’t disagree with having questions asked,” he said.
“But once you get an answer, if you don’t like it, well I’m sorry but that’s the answer. But to keep asking the same question and expecting a different answer, how long do you go with that, you know?”
However, Hagen expressed no regrets for serving Cremona.
“There’s been some really good times and some really good councillors,” he said.
“And the people – up until the last three years – have been very good,” he said, reminding people that an elected official – even the mayor – represents only one voting voice on a council that cannot unilaterally make decisions single-handedly.
“One person doesn’t have the authority to do anything, really,” he said.
The now-former mayor also went onto express pride in how far the village has come over the years.
“All of council over the years have done some really good things in this village,” he said.
“And all I can do, is hope that it continues.”
This isn't the first time Municipal Affairs has had to step in to conduct the village's affairs.
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.
A few short weeks later, Alberta Municipal Affairs assumed control of the Village of Cremona after a series of resignations by council and administration that left council without quorum.
