The Village of Clyde Viability Review Team has found, after more than a year of research, meetings and public consultations, the village is trending towards non-viability.
This could mean that sooner or later, the village will dissolve to become another hamlet within Westlock County, or it could mean changes to the way the village conducts its operations and affairs based on recommendations the review team comes up with.
Yet the finding of a trend toward non-viability is a curious one, relying as heavily as it does on public perceptions of the village’s operations rather than on hard facts and figures.
It says the village is unaware of the state of its infrastructure and doesn’t know what improvements or replacements are needed — or how to pay for them. It’s a statement Clyde mayor Doug Nyal says isn’t accurate. In one case the report relies on an assumption about something that hasn’t even happened yet, stating the village’s intent to use reserves to help fund its 2015 operations, even though council has yet to approve the budget.
Certainly these apparent discrepancies should give villagers some food for thought in contemplating the next steps for the municipality, and the future of it as an independent entity.
Whatever the reasons for the finding, there are still many solid arguments that can be made both for and against dissolution, and it’s ultimately going to be up to the village’s residents to decide what direction to go. The report doesn’t actually add too much in the way of new information to help residents make their decision.
Looking at the bigger picture, however, it would likely be beneficial for all three municipalities within Westlock County to amalgamate into one single municipality run by one single municipal government — something we’ve argued in favour of in these pages before.
At present there are some glaring inefficiencies in how operations that benefit the populations of all three municipalities are being run, and there is ample opportunity for greater collaboration.
Although the future of the village is what’s being discussed at present, and for the most part will only affect those residents in the short term, dissolution and amalgamation is something residents of all three municipalities should begin thinking and talking about.
