Alberta Municipal Affairs is about to begin reviewing the signatures on a petition that was hand-delivered to government offices in Edmonton by two Cremona residents on February 23.
“We did receive a petition from Cremona residents that is requesting the Minister to undertake a dissolution study in the village of Cremona,” said Jerry Ward, public affairs officer with Alberta Municipal Affairs. “The Minister is required to appoint a chief administrative officer to determine the sufficiency of the petition and the Minister should be appointing a person shortly.”
The appointed chief administrative officer is required to make a declaration on the sufficiency of the petition within 30 days after the date on which the petition was filed.
“A petition requesting a dissolution in a village is considered sufficient when electors numbering at least 30 per cent of the municipality's population has been verified,” Ward said.
The official population of the village of Cremona is 463.
“Typically, the Minister communicates with the mayor of the village and the petition representative,” Ward added.
Jen Thompson is the co-owner of A Little Somethin Somethin Bakery in Cremona, and she and her business partner Colleen Oughton gathered 162 signatures. The two delivered the petition to Edmonton last month and Thompson is the representative for the document.
Over the past few months, many villagers have expressed concern over decisions council and village administration have made, with many believing the majority of council “isn't listening.”
“The study is to see whether Cremona would be better off being run by the county or by a council,” Thompson said. “The government will go through the finances and the governance of the Village of Cremona and they'll check with Mountain View County to see what they would offer as far as mill rates and how they would deal with water and sewer. Generally, they check out everything like that.”
Mayor Leslie Abrams declined an offer to comment on the issue. “I have no comment,” Mayor Abrams said.
“Dissolution is the choice of the ratepayers,” said Terry Lofstrom, chief administrative officer for the village of Cremona. “The government does have a process. If the ratepayers vote to do it, that's what'll happen.
“In a democracy, the voter is always right.”
Most residents – like the manager of the Cremona Mobile Home Park - are anxious to know the results of the study. “We're looking forward to the outcome,” said Linda Nelson, who manages the park.
Jim Davies is the owner/operator of the Tru Hardware store in Cremona and he's hopeful that ultimately there will be a positive direction. “I'm interested in a positive end to it and then the village can progress and move on,” Davies said. “Council doesn't seem too sure what to do. You want them to be positive and hope that things are going to turn around.”
Municipal Dissolution is a legal process of local government restructuring established by the Alberta Municipal Government Act. “In dissolution, a municipality gives up its incorporated status to become part of a bordering municipality,” said Ward.
Dissolution may be a good option for a municipality to consider for a number of reasons, including the following: when it cannot balance its revenues with its required expenditures; it is no longer viable; vacancies on the municipal council cannot be filled; or the community can be operated more effectively or efficiently as part of a bordering municipality.
“I can't even begin to explain how much support we've had in having this study done,” said Thompson. “People were very happy to hear that something is going to happen. They're looking for updates and are calling to check on things.”
