Penhold is now officially under the provincial microscope, as a team of three investigators begins to comb through piles of documents, completes one-on-one interviews and takes a long hard look at the town's books.
Mayor Dennis Cooper sat down with the St. Albert-based Russell Farmer and Associates Consulting Ltd. on Jan. 23, and Chief Administrative Officer Rick Binnendyk has also already been through an initial meeting.
“We've been getting good cooperation,” said Russell Farmer. “Everyone is working with us and seems to be open to the process.”
Last summer council requested a municipal corporate review and local resident Ken McCarthy gathered a petition with 585 signatures asking for an investigation.
“They're going to look at everything,” said Mayor Dennis Cooper. “It makes for a safer, stronger organization.”
Chris Hutchison is the project lead for the consulting company, and will conduct an investigation that will collect policy and bylaw documents, budget numbers and strategic plans for a comprehensive review. The interviews that are currently underway will include discussions with council members, town administration, petitioners and other affected stakeholders.
“It's basically a checkup on how they're doing,” said Jerry Ward, a spokesperson for Municipal Affairs. “The inspector is taking a look at the day-to-day operations, looking for areas of improvement.”
Municipal inspections must be ordered by Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs Doug Griffiths, and therefore carry more weight than a simple organizational review which can be called for by a town council.
According to the Municipal Government Act, if the review finds the town has been managed in an “irregular, improper or improvident manner” the minister can remove the council, one of its members or the chief administrative officer.
Farmer says in his company's reviews of Village of Boyle, Village of Hill Spring, Summer Village of Crystal Springs and the Town of Daysland those actions were never one of the recommendations.
“We do the interviews and we follow up with deeper investigation,” Farmer said. “We'll do some benchmarking, comparing the town with other municipalities.”
The final report is expected in June and a public meeting will be held to discuss the findings.
"It's basically a checkup on how they're doing. The inspector is taking a look at the day-to-day operations, looking for areas of improvement."Jerry Ward, Alberta Municipal Affairs
