BARRHEAD - Doug Drozd returned to the County of Barrhead's top seat after being acclaimed as reeve during the council's annual organizational meeting.
Unlike towns and cities where residents vote directly for mayor, in most counties and municipal districts, councillors select the reeve and deputy reeve annually during their organizational meeting.
Drozd has been reeve since 2016, after taking over from retiring councillor and reeve Bill Lee. Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt nominated him.
Returning as deputy reeve for the fourth straight year is Marvin Schatz. Coun. Bill Lane nominated him.
Councillors then decided on who would represent council on the nearly 30 boards and committees that have county representation.
Unlike previous years, where a handful of the positions have been contested, requiring elections, councillors opted for the status quo, returning to the earlier posts.
Reaffirmation of Council Code of Conduct Policy
As part of the organizational meeting, councillors also endorsed the municipality's Council Code of Conduct Policy.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires that all municipalities have a councillor code of conduct bylaw, and it reviews it annually before taking a reaffirmation pledge.
The bylaw has basically remained unchanged since it was first enacted in 2017.
Lane suggested, in addition to reaffirming their commitment, that councillors should have to take a course similar to the one he took on respectful workplace training as part of the sanctions council handed him after an independent investigation by Neuman Thompson LLP. Neuman Thompson, an Edmonton-based law firm specializing in labour and employment law, found him guilty of violating the county's Council Code of Conduct Policy.
"There was a lot of good information that would be useful for all councillors to know," he said. "I've talked with many councillors from other municipalities, and they've said that the entire council takes that course."
Council did not make the nature of the complaint public to protect the complainant.
Council calendar
Councillors also approved the 2024 council meeting calendar, cancelling scheduled meetings on Jan. 2, March 19, Aug. 6, and Nov. 5 to accommodate scheduling conflicts and a summer break, leaving 20 regularly scheduled Council meetings for 2024.
