The Town of Penhold will be undergoing a municipal inspection after a petition submitted to the provincial government was found to have at least 20 per cent of the population in the town signed on.
“The petition was declared to be sufficient,” said Wendy McGrath, a public affairs officer with Municipal Affairs, on Sept. 14.
Council had received a letter during its Sept. 10 meeting from Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths letting them know that both the petition and council's own request for a review had been received.
“The focus of an inspection is an in-depth review,” McGrath said. She said this process can include reviews of finances and other matters as well as interviews with councillors, town staff and representatives from the petitioners.
She could not provide a timeline for when the inspection will take place.
“The process is in its early stages,” she said.
Earlier this summer council requested a municipal corporate review, taking its cue from the then-circulating petition that the electors wanted a closer look at the inner workings of the town.
McGrath explained a municipal corporate review is conducted by provincial government staff and can be requested by a council. Sometimes those reviews spark off inspections, she said.
She said inspections can be started three ways – a request by council, a sufficient petition or be ordered by a minister.
Mayor Dennis Cooper said he had no concerns about the town undergoing an inspection.
“We haven't done anything wrong,” he said.
He pointed out council had already asked for a review so either way a third party was going to be looking at the books.
“The petition's redundant,” he said.
He noted in the field he works in, the aviation industry, inspections by the regulator are common and a helpful event.
“It's a great way to have another set of eyes look at it,” he said, adding he expects “nothing but good will come out of this.”
Ken McCarthy, the man behind the petition and a series of signs that sparked controversy in Penhold this summer, said he'd been notified two days before speaking to the Province on Sept. 14. that the petition had been accepted.
“I have to be involved because I've got my name on the petition,” he said “They want to interview me with any evidence (that) I have.”
He said he had about 585 names on the petition. Municipal Affairs said they were using population numbers from 2011 of 2,322, putting the 20 per cent mark at about 464 signatures from electors in the Town of Penhold.
