Penhold's town council has decided to take the step of calling Municipal Affairs in for a municipal inspection review rather than wait for a petition asking for the same to be submitted.
During a special council meeting held on July 9, council passed a motion unanimously to ask for the review from Municipal Affairs.
The move comes after local resident Ken McCarthy started a petition circulating. McCarthy has posted signs about the property taxes in Penhold and held an unofficial town meeting in late June that drew over 200 people to his yard.
“I feel we have to get out in front of it,” said Mayor Dennis Cooper, who brought the idea of calling Municipal Affairs to council. He said it would show transparency.
Chief Administrative Officer Rick Binnendyk said the review would probably focus on four main areas: council, town finances, legislative policies and town management. The process would involve an outside contractor completing the review, which is likely to include interviews with councillors, staffs and potentially representatives from the group behind the petition.
Though council ended up voting unanimously for the motion, some councillors questioned the need for the move initially.
“I'm not sure there's a reason to not just let them carry on,” said Coun. Danielle Klooster. “I don't think it shows a lack of transparency to let their work follow its natural course.”
Klooster added she would never want to quash the petition. She expressed concerns about those who don't think the town has a problem being upset about staff resources being used for the review. Binnendyk had estimated about 80 hours of labour would go into it.
Later in the meeting, Klooster said there is a property tax problem in Penhold since almost all of the tax base is residential. She said projects like the Penhold Regional Multiplex will help bring in business.
“You have to build the infrastructure to change your fortune,” Klooster said.
Cooper said calling in Municipal Affairs ahead of time shows that the council is listening.
Coun. Chad Hoffman brought forward the idea of hosting a town meeting where the public learns about the budget.
Lindsay Smith, a Penhold resident since 1998, came to the meeting and was allowed to address council during their deliberations.
“You'd be better served to inform people,” Smith said, agreeing with Hoffman about educating people on the budget.
Smith told council he believes they have an “exorbitant” amount of staff and suggested the town received the council “it deserved” when not enough people ran for there to be a councillor election in 2010. He reminded council they're supposed to be working for the taxpayer.
“I'm not seeing the value,” Smith said of services for the tax increase. He said since he moved to Penhold his property taxes have gone from $1,270 to $3,016.
Coun. April Jones said she didn't think council needed to wait to ask Municipal Affairs to come in, noting council is aware there is a public desire for it to happen.
“Why not get on it now?” she asked. She said it would probably take a while for Municipal Affairs to be able to schedule the review.
Coun. Heather Klein said part of the problem is people don't understand that the school requisition, which is included on property tax invoices, is determined by the province. This year the province raised how much they collected from Penhold and the jump is responsible for over two per cent of Penhold's 4.75 per cent tax increase.
Klein suggested invoicing people separately for the school taxes instead of including them on the municipal property tax bill.
McCarthy was unaware of the meeting but when asked for a reaction on July 10, said they'd continue to collect signatures for the petition.
“I still think I'm going to hand in these names,” McCarthy said. He estimated as of July 10 he had about 460 signatures on his petition.
“We created an awareness amongst the Town of Penhold people,” McCarthy said. “It worked.”
His newest sign invited people to join him at the July 16 town council meeting, where McCarthy is on the agenda to speak to council.
