CARSTAIRS - Council has approved the rates and fees bylaw, which will see a few increases, said Carl McDonnell, CAO of Carstairs.
"Any rate increases will change as of January 1; we don't implement them right away," said O'Donnell. "Water is going up 10 cents a cubic metre. Campground fees are going up a dollar per site per night. We added $100 a day fee for soccer fields for tournaments. Those are the major changes."
In other council news, council passed the public notification bylaw as required by the Municipal Government Act (MGA). The purpose of the bylaw is to establish alternate methods for advertising statutory notices, said O'Donnell.
"In the old days you just advertised in the paper," he said. "This gives you the ability to advertise on social media and public forums as well."
Council approved an update to the intermunicipal subdivision and development appeal board to add the Town of Sundre.
"That's the same one we had previously with Cremona and Didsbury, but Sundre has now signed on to it," he said. "So we had to redo that agreement."
Council received a subdivision application from BMS Management for 1003 Gough Road, the former Rona location.
"There's one big lot that used to be the lumberyard," said O'Donnell. "They want to subdivide it into five lots. Council accepted it as information. Now it goes out for circulation. A report will come back from our subdivision authority on that."
Council approved the Parkland Regional Library (PRL) system's 2019 proposed budget. The increase to the municipal per capita requisition is 13 cents.
Council also updated the council remuneration and compensation policy.
"Federal legislation previously was that a third of the revenue elected municipal officials get is tax-free, and two-thirds is taxed," he said. "Starting January of next year 100 per cent of it is taxed. What we've done is make the adjustment so that we adjust for that taxable part so they're not paying."
McDonnell said the councillors' take-home pay would remain the same.
