Mountain View County councillors have re-elected Bruce Beattie as the reeve of the municipality for 2018-19. The election came during last week's annual organizational meeting.
The reeve is the municipality's chief elected official, functioning as the principal spokesperson for the municipality and the chair of council meetings.
“I think the support of council is very gratifying,” said Beattie. “It’s good to have the support of our council and our community. It is an honour to serve in this position.
“I’ve been reeve now since 2011 and it seems like a very long time. We’ve accomplished a lot and we now have a new administration working with new councillors.”
Coun. Angela Aalbers was re-elected as deputy reeve, who acts in the reeve’s role when the reeve is not available to do so.
“It’s really exciting and I think it’s great,” Aalbers said on her re-election to a second term as deputy reeve. “I’m thrilled that council has confidence enough to have me as deputy reeve. I think it is an important position.”
Reeve Beattie said: “Angela is a great voice for the county. She does a great job, which you can see by the number of committees she sits on and her interest in the various parts of the county. She’s a great deputy reeve and I’m really pleased she’s back (in the position).”
Code of Conduct
During the organizational meeting councillors also received and reviewed the municipality’s updated Code of Conduct for Councillors.
The Code of Conduct bylaw 07/18 was updated in June 2018. It is mandated under the provincial Municipal Government Act (MGA).
All members of council are required to abide and adhere to the principles contained in the code and must formalize their adherence through the signing of a schedule in the bylaw once per term.
The code itself is divided into a number of sections, including regarding representing the municipality, communicating on behalf of the municipality, interactions with council, staff and the public, and conflicts of interest.
The conflicts of interest section states, in part, that a councillor “shall not use or attempt to use, the position of councillor to benefit oneself or any other individuals apart from the interest of the county,” must “avoid situations in which there may be a real or perceived conflict of interest of apprehension of bias,” and must “avoid placing themselves in any position of obligation to a person or organization who might reasonably benefit from special consideration or may seek preferential treatment.”
The improper use of influence section states, in part, that councillors must “refrain from any type of personnel management including providing direction to an employee, advocating for a promotion, sanction or termination of an employee, or discussion on the performance of an employee.”
As well, councillors are required to “respect that employees in administration work for the county as a corporate body and are charged with making recommendations that reflect their professional expertise and a corporate perspective and that employees are required to do so without undue influence from any member of council.”
The code also includes provision for public complaints against councillors and the setting up of a complaint hearing process.
Councillors found in violation of the code can face a variety of sanctions, including a letter of reprimand to the councillor, a requirement to issue a letter of apology, publication of a letter of reprimand or request for apology and the councillor’s response, and a requirement to attend training.
As mandated councillors also received a memorandum from the CAO regarding the general duties of councillors and council liability.
Councillor duties outlined in the MGA Section 208 (1)(d) include the following:
- To consider the welfare and interests of the municipality as a whole and bring to council’s attention anything that would promote the welfare or interests of the municipality.
- To participate generally in developing and evaluating the policies and programs of the municipality.
- To participate in council meetings and council committee meetings of other bodies to which they are appointed by council.
- To keep in confidence matters discussed in private at a council or council committee meeting until discussed at a meeting held in public.
Councillors passed motions accepting the code and the memorandum for information.
The complete code and the CAO memorandum are available for viewing on the county’s website.
Three council meetings a month
Meanwhile, councillors have decided that over the next year they will hold three council meetings a month, instead of having two council meetings and one policies and priorities meeting each month as has been the system for the past number of years.
The move will allow councillors to pass motions more frequently if required, said Reeve Beattie.
“I think we want to make sure that we are handling all of the business of the county in the most effective way,” he said. “I personally think it is a good move for council. I think we will have the opportunity to deal with emerging items in a quicker manner.”
In the past, the policies and priorities could only pass motions recommending followup by council.
The change will be reviewed at the 2019 organizational meeting.
